NETSCAPE CONTINUES TO EXPAND:
Netscape Acquires NewHoo! Community Directory Project to Provide Comprehensive Internet
Directory Service via Netcenter and Smart Browsing
Date:
Wed, 18 Nov 1998 05:49:39 -0800 (PST)
From:
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News Alert from PR Newswire via Quote.com
Topic: (NASDAQ:NSCP) Netscape Communications Corp,
Quote.com News Item #8247430
Headline: Netscape Acquires NewHoo! Community Directory Project to Provide
Comprehensive Internet Directory Service via Netcenter and Smart Browsing
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New 'Netscape Open Directory' Harnesses the Knowledge and Creativity of Over
4,500 Volunteer Editors and Scales to Size of Web
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Netscape Communications
Corporation (NASDAQ:NSCP) today announced it acquired the NewHoo! Community
Directory Project as a part of its plan to deliver the world's most
comprehensive Internet directory search service via its fast growing Internet
portal, Netscape Netcenter. The new service, called "Netscape Open Directory,"
will be the first portal-based Internet directory to harness the knowledge and
creativity of over 4,500 Internet "volunteer editors" to empower consumers to
find the information they want quickly and easily. In addition, the Netscape
Open Directory will be used to provide recommended sites for users of Netscape
Netcenter's Smart Browsing service, offered through the popular Netscape
Communicator browser software.
This announcement falls on the heels of Netscape's acquisition of AtWeb,
Inc. and is another significant step in Netscape's plans to provide Netcenter
users with smart tools and services that enable them to take charge of their
Internet experience. By introducing an interactive element to the search and
navigation infrastructure, Netscape Open Directory also gives Netscape a
distinct competitive advantage because, unlike other directory search
services, it can grow with the Web -- resulting in fresher content and fewer
dead links.
"With the Internet growing rapidly and more services and content coming
online each day, the open community directory model pioneered by NewHoo!
offers the only solution to the problem of how to scale and organize the Web,"
said Mike Homer, executive vice president and general manager of Netscape's
Netcenter division. "Since its inception, and further evidenced through the
creation of mozilla.org, Netscape has been committed to fostering the creative
energies of the Internet community. The new Netscape Open Directory furthers
that commitment and we welcome NewHoo! and the thousands of volunteer editors
to the Netscape team as we create the most comprehensive and interesting Web
directory in the world."
Netscape Open Directory will be integrated with existing Netscape
Netcenter services and will be made available through mozilla.org, a popular
Netscape technology clearing-house that will act as a central point of contact
and community for those interested in using or improving the new search
service.
"We started out with the vision and the model to build the largest and
highest quality, human-edited directory of the Internet," said Rich Skrenta,
chief executive officer and co-founder of NewHoo! "We believe Netscape's
spirit of open development, as demonstrated by mozilla.org, combined with the
portal strength of Netscape Netcenter will enable us to build the most
comprehensive and up-to-date Internet directory search service in the world."
Today, the NewHoo! directory includes more than 100,000 Web sites,
classified in more than 24,000 different interest categories such as business,
science and sports. In total, the NewHoo! directory project includes more than
4,500 editors located throughout the world. By working with the thousands of
volunteer editors, as well as enlisting the support of several professional
library organizations, non-profits and educational institutions, Netscape
plans to build a knowledge base that will result in the largest, human-edited
directory of the Web.
Volunteers interested in using or improving the Netscape Open Directory
can get more information from directory.mozilla.org where Netscape will
offer a special license, similar to the mozilla.org open source code
development license, to allow individuals and organizations to take advantage
of and use copies of the directory that they can crawl, archive and reuse on
their machines.
In addition to offering it as a standalone directory, Netscape will
explore many new ways of integrating Netscape Open Directory with various
Netcenter channels and services, such as Smart Browsing, Community Forums, My
Netscape, Custom Netcenter and International Netcenter. This will result in
better search and navigation services for Netcenter users, greater exposure
for the volunteer editors' work, and more traffic for sites listed in the Open
Directory.
NewHoo! is a directory-based search service, whose categories and
editorial content are provided by volunteers from all over the Web. Signing up
as an editor is easy: one can simply choose a topic and join. The NewHoo!
Community Directory Service was founded in 1998 by Rich Skrenta, Bob Truel,
Chris Tolles, Jeremy Wenokur and Bryn Dole to provide the largest and most
comprehensive directory of the Internet.
Netscape Netcenter is Netscape's fast-growing portal site that provides
users with a home base on the Internet. From Netcenter, users can navigate the
Internet, access a broad range of consumer and business content and services
and communicate with others online. The site includes seventeen content
channels, a set of leading-edge services including Netscape-branded Search,
Netscape Contact, SmartUpdate, Software Download, Member Directory, My
Netscape personalization service and WebMail.
Netscape Communications Corporation is a leading provider of software and
services for businesses that want to transform the way they create and keep
customers in the emerging Net Economy. The company offers a full line of
enterprise software solutions, professional services, and a leading Internet
portal to help companies build, buy or outsource Internet applications that
drive revenue growth, build customer loyalty, and create new levels of
business efficiency. Traded on NASDAQ under the symbol "NSCP," Netscape
Communications Corporation is based in Mountain View, California.
Additional information on Netscape Communications Corporation is available
on the Internet at home.netscape.com, by sending email to info@
netscape.com, or by calling 650-937-2555 for corporations or 650-937-3777 for
individuals.
NOTE: Netscape and the Netscape N Logo are registered trademarks of
Netscape Communications Corporation in the United States and other countries.
Other Netscape logos, product names, and service names, including Netcenter,
Smart Browsing, Netscape Contact, Mozilla and Netscape Open Directory are also
trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation. Other product and brand
names are trademarks of their respective owners.
SOURCE Netscape Communications Corporation
-0- 11/18/98
/CONTACT: Nathan Tyler of Netscape Communications Corporation,
650-937-4927, or tyler@netscape.com/
/Company News On-Call: prnewswire.com or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 585525/
/Web site: home.netscape.com |
