Women's WIRE facts for kids

Women's WIRE (later called Women.com) was a very important online place. It was the first Internet company made just for women!

It started in California in 1992. At first, it was called WIRE, which stood for Women's Information Resource & Exchange. You could get online using something called telnet if you paid a fee.

Nancy Rhine, who taught herself about computers, came up with the idea. She then teamed up with Ellen Pack to start it. Later, Women's WIRE moved to the World Wide Web and changed its name to Women.com.

The website became very popular, with millions of visitors each month. About 300,000 people visited it every day! It offered email, places to chat, and forums where people could talk. It also had news, advice, and lots of information.

Around 1999, during a time called the dot-com crash when many internet companies struggled, Women's WIRE started losing money. In 2001, another company called iVillage bought it.

How Women's WIRE Started

Nancy Rhine first thought about creating an online space for women in the early 1990s. She met Ellen Pack at a place called The WELL, which was an early online community. Nancy was a co-director there.

Ellen Pack first went online in 1991. She liked it but noticed that not many women were sharing their voices online. When Ellen asked on The WELL about starting a network for women, Nancy contacted her because she had a similar idea.

Nancy and Ellen worked together to create and launch Women's WIRE in 1992. Ellen helped raise $100,000 from her family and friends to get it started. Nancy, who was a computer expert, built the website. They also got help from Marleen McDaniel, a consultant from Silicon Valley.

When they began, a man told them that there was "no market for women" online. They didn't listen! Women's WIRE became the first Internet company made for women. It launched in October 1993 with 500 members.

Name Change and Growth

At first, the company was just called WIRE and used the address wire.net. But Wired Magazine felt this name was too similar to theirs (wired.com). The two groups agreed to settle things outside of court. Wired helped pay for half the costs to move to a new address, and WIRE agreed to change its name to Women's WIRE. Nancy Rhine said they settled to save money and focus on growing their business.

Women's WIRE first operated from Ellen Pack's home. It was the only online service focused on women at that time. Later, they moved to an office in South San Francisco with an all-women staff.

In 1994, users, mostly women, paid $15 a month to use Women's WIRE. Also in 1994, Marleen McDaniel became the president. She helped the site move to the wider Internet. As the internet grew, Women's WIRE became Women.com in 1995. They moved their offices to San Mateo. Nancy Rhine left in 1996 to create content for women at America Online.

Women.com became a "one-stop Web portal" where women could connect and find many things. By 1996, Women's WIRE employees created content seen by 300,000 visitors each month. The site earned money from advertising. In 2000, about 80% of its money came from ads.

In 1997, Ellen Pack wrote a book called Women's Wire Web Directory. It helped women learn how to use online spaces and get involved with Women's WIRE. By 1999, big companies like Microsoft, Toyota, IBM, Hallmark, and Bloomberg supported them. In early 1999, Women.com also took over HomeArts.com, which was part of Hearst Corporation.

End of Women.com

In 1999, stock prices dropped a lot during the dot-com crash. Women.com faced financial problems. In 2001, iVillage bought Women.com for $47 million. This deal combined Women.com and iVillage, creating what was then "the world's largest and most comprehensive destination for women on the web."

What Was on Women's WIRE

Women's WIRE was created to be an international network focused on women's topics. The content on the site changed often to keep readers interested. In 1996, Entertainment Weekly said the site had "pleasing but spare graphics" and loaded quickly.

Sections of the site included questions from readers. Women's WIRE also provided links to job listings and helped women improve their careers and job hunting skills. The site was also known for having a good sense of humor about the things it covered.

For the 1996 Summer Olympics, Women's WIRE teamed up with Women's Sports + Fitness magazine. They covered the event and included articles about fitness, training, and sports. By 1999, Women.com kept adding more content to attract more visitors. Women.com had special deals to show material from Hearst magazines. They also added content from Harlequin Books in 1999. There were even plans for users to buy books directly from the publisher through Women.com. By 2000, Women.com offered over 100,000 pages of content. They also had newsletters and let users create their own homepage.

Building Community

Women's WIRE also helped create a sense of community for its users. It was a place where women could share their worries and get advice from other women. Women could even organize politically through Women's WIRE, sharing information and encouraging each other to contact politicians. The site was more focused on social change early on, reflecting Nancy Rhine's wish to build a strong community based on feminist ideas.

How Women's WIRE Worked

When Women's WIRE first started, it was an online service that people paid to use. It had about 1,300 members. It ran on software called First Class BBS. Users would log in using a local phone number in San Francisco or by using telnet. If users needed help connecting, they could get support from customer service.

In 1994, Nancy Rhine and Ellen Pack had to decide about moving to the World Wide Web. In October 1995, Women's WIRE switched to CompuServe, which was another online service. Women's WIRE was then on version 2.6, and users could get to the site using a diskette and CompuServe. This version allowed users to connect through CompuServe with a dial-up connection. Users of version 2.6 had access to email, chat rooms, news, and more.

In 1996, Women's WIRE moved away from being a bulletin board service. They encouraged members to join a forum set up on CompuServe. Visitors could also go to the web address Women.com to find content.