[May 22] In a brave demonstration of professionalism,
U.K. Internet news site
netimperative.com
at 11:47 GMT Monday reported its own demise.
Having been in operation for just six months with
backing of nearly £1 million ($1.5 million) seed
capital, netimperative.com has become the latest
casualty in what is being called “dotcom fallout.”
The Net Imperative Limited, the company that runs
netimperative.com, says it has called in Kroll Buchler
Phillips as provisional liquidators to look at the
company’s books and assess the situation fully.
Operating out of Shoreditch, close to the City of
London, netimperative.com had the benefit of
first-class Web site design and construction. Built by
Mazware.com,
the site was styled by award-winning designers
arehaus partners.
Founded by Felicia Jackson, Davina Lines and
Bryan Smith, netimperative.com had planned to
roll out its services overseas, establishing an
international network of localized information
and community service providers.
However, the money ran out, as it threatens to
do with at least twenty-five per cent of Internet
start-ups in Europe, according to experts. The
industry is still reeling from the collapse of
fashion megasite boo.com,
which was afflicted with a similar cash shortage.
The demise of netimperative.com is unwelcome to
the industry — although technically a rival
to internet.com and other news providers —
because it fulfilled its promise to deliver
up-to-the-minute Internet news in the U.K.
With so much information being freely available
on the Internet, netimperative.com could not
find a sufficient number of members to pay
£49 ($73) per year for added-value services
that included closed discussion groups, browser-based
email and priority booking for industry events.