In October 1995, GeoCities had 14 online neighbourhoods
of topical interest among 10,000 members.
Today, it is
rated as the fifth most trafficked Web site on the Internet with over
3.5 million members generating over 1.6 billion page views every month. David Bohnett, GeoCities CEO, attributes the growth in large part to the company’s members outside the US.
“Approximately 8 per cent of all Web sites on the Internet are hosted by
GeoCities,” said Bohnett in an exclusive interview. Approximately 15,000 people become members of
GeoCities everyday.
“We have a tremendous international following. Approximately 50 per cent
of our member sites are created by members abroad,” Bohnett said.
GeoCities recently launched a program called “Pages That Pay,” which
allows members to buy and sell from each other.
“I think we have
re-defined the affiliate network program by creating a multi-merchant
program that is harnessed under one roof,” said Bohnett.
“As becoming a member of GeoCities is free, it has enabled many members
of the international community to build a Web site online and host it at
GeoCities,” he said. This international market can also fuel the
e-commerce potential for GeoCities members.
Many Internet firms are facing some of the same international legal and
regulatory challenges as their counterparts in the broadcasting and
media arenas, on issues such as intellectual property.
“I think one of the most important issues facing the Web today is
privacy. The privacy of our members and their personal information is
closely guarded and members expect that to be the case,” said Bohnett.
