General Magic Inc. selected New York
City-based LinkShare Corp. as a Web affiliate partner
to attract new subscribers for its voice-enabled services.
The LinkShare affiliate marketing network will be used to promote General
Magic’s Portico virtual assistant service and new myTalk free e-mail service.
LinkShare facilitates e-commerce by providing companies with the tools and
technology to cross-refer their customers. LinkShare specializes in brokering
affiliate programs between Web businesses to help them generate revenue for
each other.
General Magic develops and markets voice-enabled services that make it easy
for people to access and act on information using any telephone and their own
spoken words. Its Portico service, launched in July 1998 for mobile
professionals, provides many of the services of a human assistant on an
around-the-clock basis. Subscribers have access to voice mail, e-mail,
calendar, address book, news and stock quotes, over any telephone or using a
standard Web browser from a personal computer.
myTalk, launched June 15, 1999, offers consumers free access to their e-mail
over the phone or from a Web browser. The service, available at, is supported by
ad sponsorship and has attracted more than 30,000 members since it was
introduced.
