Tripod Puts On A Fresh Face

Using member feedback and advertiser input, Lycos Inc.-owned community site Tripod unveiled its new look today, which
includes a major electronic commerce initiative.

The company said the made-over site features improvements in navigability,
functionality, and organization. Areas are organized into four key
sections: Build, Explore, Interact, and Buy/Sell, which enables the site’s
reported 2 million members to more easily navigate and locate content and
activities, and also use Lycos’ search capabilities. The areas also allow
member eyeballs to remain within the Lycos/Tripod family, instead of
directing traffic away from the network of sites.

Highlighting the Buy/Sell section, Lycos said the new area reflects the
importance of electronic commerce, allowing members to buy and sell
products and earn commissions. The section also provides advertisers with a
cleaner section in which to target potential buyers.

Factoring into the emphasis on e-commerce is Tripod’s successful
relationships with e-commerce partners such as CDnow, Barnesandnoble.com and
TestDrive. The company said
additional e-commerce alliances will be announced in the near future.

The other three sections include: Build, a homepage creation area that
includes tools such as guestbooks from the company’s recent acquisition
Guestworld; Explore, a homepage search tool which employs technology from
another Lycos acquisition, WiseWire; and Interact, a special interest group
hub for its ‘pods’ communities.

“Tripod is always seeking new and different ways to offer the best services
to our members and partners,” said Margaret Stewart Gould, vice president
of media and community development at Tripod. “The new Build, Explore,
Interact, Buy/Sell design concept simplifies what Tripod has to offer,
creates a stronger sense of community, and caters to each individual’s
reason for being online.”

In the current portal fad of communities, Lycos has been on an aggressive
acquisition tear of late. Recent purchases include companies such as
WhoWhere? and Angelfire.com to further its community-oriented vision, and
going head-to-head with rivals such as websteaders GeoCities, Yahoo! and Excite.