''Hotwired'' (1994–1999) was the first commercial
online magazine
An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to being online only was the computer mag ...
, launched on October 27, 1994. Although it was part of the print magazine
''Wired'', ''Hotwired'' carried original content.
History
Andrew Anker,
Wired
''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...
's then Vice President and CTO, wrote the original HotWired business plan. On its approval in April 1994, he became HotWired's first CEO, and oversaw the development of the website. Over the next five years several other sites grew out of Hotwired, most notably Wired News,
Webmonkey
Webmonkey was an online tutorial website composed of various articles on building webpages from backend to frontend. The site covered many aspects of developing on the web like programming, database, multimedia, and setting up web storefronts. The ...
, and the Wired search engine
HotBot
HotBot was an American web search engine owned by Lycos. It was launched in May 1996 by ''Wired'' magazine. During the 1990s, it was one of the most popular search engines on the World Wide Web.
History
HotBot was launched in May 1996 by HotWir ...
.
After several previous site iterations, HotWired 4.0 launched on July 1, 1997, marking the magazine's most comprehensive overhaul. The reinvention efforts were led by Executive Producer June Cohen, Executive Editor Cate Corcoran and Senior Designer Sabine Messner. The redesigned site featured
Dynamic HTML
Dynamic HTML, or DHTML, is a term which was used by some browser vendors to describe the combination of HTML, style sheets and client-side scripts (JavaScript, VBScript, or any other supported scripts) that enabled the creation of interactive ...
homepage teasers, more focus on user-centric interaction and a simplified channel structure.
The site launched before the advent of Time Inc.'s
Pathfinder.com site, and the emergence of independent web magazines such as
Feed,
Word
A word is a basic element of language that carries an objective or practical meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no conse ...
, and
Salon. HotWired's initial business model was 'corporate sponsorship', which quickly led to the design of the 'ad banner' display areas still in use today. The first banner ad on the internet was an AT&T ad featured on the site in 1994. The first direct marketing focused ads were sold by
David Hyman to Virtual Vineyards. Under the leadership of
Rex Briggs
Rex Briggs (born 1971) is an author, award winning marketing ROI researcher. He began his career at Yankelovich Partners, where he was noted for his work in Generation X Minority marketing. While at Yankelovich, he is noted for developing a theory ...
, HotWired was the first to measure the effectiveness of online advertising, and among the first to attempt behavioral targeting and the first to apply real-time web analytics, known as “HotStats.”
Wired Ventures' online division was acquired by
Lycos, Inc. in October 1998,
a year after
Condé Nast
Condé Nast () is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Montrose Nast, and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan.
The company's media ...
acquired Wired Magazine. It launched "HotWired 5.0" in September as an aggregator of Wired News and an archive of old HotWired content, slashing fresh editorial content except for Suck and Webmonkey.
In 2006, Lycos turned the domain into a pay-per-click advertising hub, seemingly marking the definitive end of Hotwired as an online magazine. However, in July 2006, Condé Nast acquired both Webmonkey and the Hotwired domain from Lycos,
and Webmonkey was relaunched in May 2008.
Projects and sites
Projects and sites published under the Hotwired banner from 1994 to 1999 include:
*Adrenaline (1994–1996)-Daily Magazine of Alternative Sports developed and edited by Caitlin Pulleyblank. Magazine linked to an Interactive database of play spots on a graphical interface
ealtime surf data, climbing data located (latitude/longitude), ultimate teams, mountain bike trails, rafting locations with posted CFS data
*Animation Express (1998–2002) - Curated collection of animated short films presented in Flash, Shockwave, and QuickTime formats.
*Ask Dr. Weil (1996-1997) - Steven Petrow was the founding editor of
Dr. Andrew Weil's integrative medicine site.
*Beta Lounge (1997–1999) - Live DJ channel
*Brain Tennis (1996–1997) - Debate as a spectator's sport
*Cocktail (1996–1997) - Recipes for, history of, and variations on cocktails
*DaveNet (1995–1996) -
Dave Winer
Dave Winer (born May 2, 1955, in Queens, New York City) is an American software developer, entrepreneur, and writer who resides in New York City. Winer is noted for his contributions to outliners, scripting, content management, and web servi ...
's developer musings
*Dream Jobs (1995–1998) - Inspiring people & company profiles
*Geek of the Week (1997–1998) - Weekly featured member page of HotWired members around the world
*
HotBot
HotBot was an American web search engine owned by Lycos. It was launched in May 1996 by ''Wired'' magazine. During the 1990s, it was one of the most popular search engines on the World Wide Web.
History
HotBot was launched in May 1996 by HotWir ...
(1996–Present) - Search Engine (partnered with
Inktomi
Inktomi Corporation was a company that provided software for Internet service providers (ISPs). It was incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in Foster City, California, United States. Customers included Microsoft, HotBot, Amazon.com, eBay, ...
)
*Intelligent Agent (1995) - Travel through the minds of Rudy Rucker, Randy Shilts, Joshua Quittner, and others.
*Member Pages (1997–1998) - Template-based do-it-yourself homepage profiles of users
*Muckraker (1995–1996) -
Brock N. Meeks follows the Net from Washington, DC.
*Netizen (1996–1997) - The first website to cover a presidential election, featuring daily writing from
John Heilemann
John Arthur Heilemann (born January 23, 1966) is an American journalist and national affairs analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. With Mark Halperin, he co-authored ''Game Change'' (2010) and '' Double Down'' (2013), books about presidential campaign ...
and
Jon Katz
Jon Katz (born August 8, 1947) is an American journalist, author, and photographer. He was a contributor to the online magazine ''HotWired'', the technology website ''Slashdot'', and the online news magazine '' Slate''. In his early career as an a ...
, edited by
David Weir. Where politics, digital culture, and the high-tech industry intersect;
*Net Soup (1995–1996) - Listservs and newsgroup postings.
*Net Surf (1997) - Events of the Net industry.
*Net Surf Central (1995–1996) - An interactive database of the cool Web sites of 1996
*Packet (1997–1998) - Intelligence from the technological frontier, featuring Michael Schrage, Brooke Shelby Biggs,
Simson Garfinkel
Simson L. Garfinkel (born 1965) is Senior Data Scientist at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). He was formerly the US Census Bureau's Senior Computer Scientist for Confidentiality and Data Access. Previously, he was a computer scientist at ...
, Steve Silberman, and
Mark Frauenfelder
Mark Frauenfelder (born November 22, 1960) is a blogger, illustrator, and journalist. He was editor-in-chief of the magazine '' MAKE'' and is co-owner of the collaborative weblog ''Boing Boing''. Along with his wife, Carla Sinclair, he founded the ...
)
*Piazza (1994–1995) - the first communication forum within HotWired, including "Threads" (conferencing system) and "Club Wired" - (a live, Telnet-based chat system customized by Laura La Gassa - hosted by Will Kreth, Susanna Camp, and David Hyman
*Pop (1995–1996) - Movies, books, art, zines, and personalities, featuring John Alderman, Rob Levine,
Ian Christe
Ian Christe (born 1970 in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland) is an author, disc jockey and the publisher of Bazillion Points Books. He attended Mynderse Academy, The Clarkson School's Bridging Year, and Indiana University Bloomington (1987-1990).
Christe ...
, and Sarah Borruso.
*Renaissance 2.0 (1994–1996) - HotWired's original art and literary channel, managed by Gary Wolf with illustrations by Sabine Messner
*RGB Gallery - Electronic art collection
*Signal (1994–1996) - What did e-commerce, e-politics, and e-culture look like in 1995?
*
Suck
Suck may refer to:
*Suction, the force exerted by a partial vacuum
*.sucks, an Internet top-level domain
Arts and entertainment Music
* Suck (band), a South African hard rock group
* Suck, drummer for the 1990s Japanese punk band Teengenerate
* ...
(1995–2001) - Web and media commentary redefining the word 'sarcastic'
*Synapse (1997–1998) - Colorful, interactive viewpoints on technology and culture, featuring Jon Katz
*Talk.com (1996–1998) - Live chats and interviews
*Test Patterns (1996) - What HotWired employees did in their spare time
*The Rough Guide (1995—1998) - Online travel library in partnership with Rough Guides
*Web 101 (1997–1999) - Your smart introduction to the Net.
*
Webmonkey
Webmonkey was an online tutorial website composed of various articles on building webpages from backend to frontend. The site covered many aspects of developing on the web like programming, database, multimedia, and setting up web storefronts. The ...
(1996–2002) - Web programming tips and techniques
*World Beat (1994–1995) - Travel
See also
* ''
Wired News
''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fran ...
''
References
External links
*
Looking back at Hotwiredat veen.com (history of interfaces)
*
*
* Kreth, Will
Retrieved 19 April 2005.
* Hall, Justin
Justin Hall @ HotWired Retrieved 19 April 2005.
A demo version of the HotWired site from 1995*
{{Webby Awards, cat=Politics+law, year=1997, type=winner, cat2=Art, year2=1998, type2=Nominee
Internet properties established in 1994
Magazines established in 1994
Magazines disestablished in 1999
Internet properties disestablished in 1999
Online magazines published in the United States
Webby Award winners
Defunct magazines published in the United States
1994 establishments in the United States