Lycos facts for kids
 |
|
A screenshot of Lycos.com as of 2015
|
|
| Type of business | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
|
Type of site
|
Search engine and web portal |
| Available in | Multilingual |
| Founded | May 1994 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Headquarters | Waltham, Massachusetts, United States |
| Founder(s) | Michael Loren Mauldin |
| Parent | Brightcom Group |
| Registration | Optional |
| Launched | April 13, 1995 |
| Current status | Active |
Lycos, Inc. is a company that provides many internet services. It offers a search engine to find things online. It also has a web portal, which is like a main website with many links. You can use Lycos for chat, to register domain names, and for email. Lycos also owns other websites like Tripod and Angelfire. The company started in 1994. It began as a project at Carnegie Mellon University.
The name "Lycos" comes from a Latin word. It means "wolf spider".
Contents
How Lycos Started and Grew
Early Days and Public Launch
Lycos began in May 1994. It was a research project by Michael Loren Mauldin. He was a student at Carnegie Mellon University. The company received money to start from CMGI.
In 1995, Bob Davis became the first CEO. He helped Lycos become a web portal. This meant it offered many services, not just search.
In April 1996, Lycos became a public company. This means its shares could be bought and sold. It was the first search engine company to do this. This happened even before Yahoo! and Excite.
Expanding Services and Partnerships
In May 1997, Lycos Europe was created. This was a partnership with a company called Bertelsmann. Lycos started offering e-mail services in October 1997. That year, it became one of the first internet companies to make a profit.
In February 1998, Lycos bought Tripod.com. This added more services for users. In March 1998, Lycos invested in GlobeComm. This company helped power its free email service.
In August 1998, Lycos bought WhoWhere. In October 1998, it bought digital parts of Wired. This deal also included Hotbot and WebMonkey.
In April 1999, Lycos was very popular. About 52% of all internet users visited its website. This was even more than Yahoo at that time. Lycos also launched an internet radio service in April 1999.
More Acquisitions and Changes
In September 1999, Lycos bought Quote.com. In November 1999, it acquired Gamesville. In December 1999, Lycos Asia was formed. This was a partnership with Singtel.
In June 2000, Lycos bought Matchmaker.com. This service was later sold in 2006. In July 2000, Lycos started using Microsoft Windows 2000 software. It also used Intel processors for its platform.
In October 2000, Lycos was bought by Terra Networks. This company was part of Telefónica. Lycos was then renamed Terra Lycos.
In January 2001, the company bought RagingBull.com. In October 2002, it acquired GetRelevant.
New Owners and Modern Offerings
In October 2004, Terra sold Lycos to Daum Communications Corporation. This company is now known as Kakao.
In July 2006, Lycos sold the digital parts of Wired. They were sold to Condé Nast Publications. In February 2006, Lycos also sold Quote.com and RagingBull.com.
In March 2006, Lycos added phone call services. These included video chat and video on demand. In November 2006, Lycos Cinema was introduced.
In February 2007, Lycos Mix was launched. This allowed users to combine video clips. They could use videos from YouTube, Google Video, and MySpace Video. Users could also create playlists and chat.
In August 2010, Lycos was sold to Ybrant Digital. This was an Internet marketing company from India. Ybrant Digital later changed its name to Brightcom Group in May 2018.
In May 2012, Rob Balazy became the CEO of Lycos. In June 2015, Lycos announced new wearable devices. These were called Band and Ring. In October 2016, Lycos sold the HotBot.com domain name.
See also
In Spanish: Lycos para niños
- List of search engines
- Comparison of search engines
