Subject: Classifieds story From: MichelleVR@aol.com Date: Thu, 11 May 1995 01:35:12 -0400

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Here is a copy of my Reuters column on Electronic Classifieds Inc., for the
many people who requested it. It's about 800 words long. Apologizes to
everyone else; this is the easiest way for me to distribute it.
Michelle V. Rafter
Reuters cyberspace columnist

LIVEWIRE: Looking for love in online classifieds

      By Michelle V. Rafter

    LOS ANGELES (Reuter) - Boy meets computer. Girl meets
computer. Boy and girl use their computers to meet each other.
They fall in love and live happily ever after.

    This is the stuff Gary Kremen's dreams are made of.

    Kremen is the 21st century Cupid behind Match.com
(http://match.com), an Internet personals service that formally
opens for business May 15.

    People have been doing the electronic tango since the
creation of the modem. Witness the proliferation of adult
bulletin boards, steamy chat rooms on America Online and the
come-ons that routinely fly through Internet IRC channels.

    But Match.com's ultimate mission is to get people hooked up,
er, in the flesh.

    ``That's why I started the company, to create more love,
seriously,'' Kremen said.

    Maybe so. But the 31-year-old entrepreneur figures to make a
killing doing it. Match.com is the first of several online
classified services that Kremen's San Francisco-based company,
Electronic Classifieds Inc., has planned for the digital
marketplace.

    He is using Match.com to test technology, marketing and user
interest before rolling out services for selling cars, houses and
the like.

    Electronic Classifieds isn't the only company bringing
classified ads to the Internet. Newspapers are already there,
including the New York Times, Chicago Tribune and other heavy
hitters.

    Some even carry personals: among them online editions of the
San Jose Mercury News, Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer and
Tele-Publishing Inc., which markets personals from Newsday and
the Boston Phoenix.

    But the bulk of these are limited to reprints of newspaper
classifieds. Most don't take ads online. Net surfers can't E-mail
someone whose ad catches their eye; like newspaper readers, they
have to fork over $1 to $2 a minute to call a 900 number and
leave a voice-mail message.

    According to Kremen, newspapers' online ads are boring.

    ``They're not using the medium,'' he said.

    Some Internet junkies have built their own personals network
by creating World Wide Web home pages for themselves, then
posting directions to the pages to alt.personals newsgroups. But
going that route takes some technical skill, time and money.

    Kremen thinks he's found a better way.

    For one, Match.com works with E-mail, as well as on the Web.
Users create an ad by filling out a form with their vital
statistics, writing an essay about themselves and their dream
mate, and if they want, uploading a snap shot. As members, they
receive an anonymous nickname or ``handle.''

    Once online, members click on pastel-colored icons of hearts
and eyes to browse through other members' profiles, search for
matches and send mail to people who sound interesting. For now
E-mail is free, but come September, Match.com will start
charging. Rates should be comparable to rates for newspaper
personals, Kremen said.

    After a few rounds of exchanging E-mail anonymously, Kremen
expects people will give out their real E-mail addresses or phone
numbers and be gone -- if they find the right person.

    To keep people hanging around as long as possible, Match.com
has lots of extras: discussion groups, an online magazine, an
advice column on sex and relationships, and ``Venus,'' a search
tool that alerts you when someone matching your pre-defined
description of Mr. or Ms. Right signs on.

    ``You can see the implications for other classifieds
services,'' Kremen said. ``You could program it to send you
E-mail when that '57 Chevy comes online.''

    But Kremen's not stopping there. To reach as many potential
customers as possible, he's negotiating to become the classified
ad section of large Internet communities, which will get a chunk
of the revenue their members generate when they visit Match.com.

    Kremen cut a deal with the Women's Wire electronic network
and has others in the works, including agreements with two major
Silicon Valley-based Web sites.

    Kremen's not saying how long it'll be before Match.com makes
money. Meanwhile, Electronic Classifieds has raised $1.7 million
in venture funds to cover start-up costs and is turning away
other financing.

    Should he run into trouble, Kremen's lined up an all-star
board to bail him out, including Edward Bennett, the ex-head of
cable music channel VH1 who was recently signed on to run Prodigy
Services.

    Electronic Classifieds is so new the company hasn't
registered on many newspapers' radar screens.

    But at least one news exec is intrigued. James Calloway, head
of new media for the Raleigh News and Observer's NandoNet online
service, said he would consider pairing up with a venture like
Electronic Classifieds in the future.

    ``Any competition is a threat at some level and the more the
competition understands the net, the bigger the threat,''
Calloway said.

    To receive instructions for using Match.com through E-mail,
send an electronic message to info@match.com.

    -----     -----     -----     -----     -----     -----

    (Michelle V. Rafter writes about cyberspace and technology
from Los Angeles. Her E-mail address is michellevr@aol.com.
Opinions expressed in this column are those of Ms. Rafter)

    Reuter/Variety


Transmitted: 95-05-10 17:29:56 EDT

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