The WELL, an online community that predates the World Wide Web, has been purchased by a group of its members. The WELL began as a dialup bulletin board system in 1985 and was bought by Salon.com during the tech boom of 13 years ago. Salon fell on hard times (recall its ill-fated IPO) and recently found it necessary to sell The WELL. A group of WELL members formed an investment group, and purchased the service from Salon effective yesterday. Here's a charming document describing how The WELL bought itself.
In an age where discussion forums are anonymous and fleeting, The WELL is characterized by long-term membership by passionate, engaged people. The 11 members who formed the investment group have been on The WELL for an average of 20 years. Think about that.
Congratulations to The WELL. I'm glad it will continue. It adds something to my life that I couldn't easily find elsewhere. And if nothing else, The WELL can take care of itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment