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''Hotwired'' (1994–1999) was the first commercial
online magazine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to an online only magazine was the comput ...
, launched on October 27, 1994. Although it was part of the print magazine ''Wired'', ''Hotwired'' carried original content.


History

Andrew Anker,
Wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...
's then Vice President and CTO, wrote the original HotWired business plan. On its approval in April 1994, he became HotWired's first CEO, and oversaw the development of the website. Over the next five years several other sites grew out of Hotwired, most notably Wired News,
Webmonkey Webmonkey was an online tutorial website composed of various articles on building webpages from backend to frontend. The site covered many aspects of developing on the web like programming, database, multimedia, and setting up web storefronts. The ...
, and the Wired search engine
HotBot HotBot is a Canadian web search engine owned by HotBot Limited, whose key principal is Kristen Richardson. The search engine was initially launched in North America in 1996 by ''Wired'' magazine. During the 1990s, it was one of the most popul ...
. After several previous site iterations, HotWired 4.0 launched on July 1, 1997, marking the magazine's most comprehensive overhaul. The reinvention efforts were led by Executive Producer June Cohen, Executive Editor Cate Corcoran and Senior Designer Sabine Messner. The redesigned site featured
Dynamic HTML Dynamic HTML, or DHTML, is a term which was used by some browser vendors to describe the combination of HTML, style sheets and client-side scripts (JavaScript, VBScript, or any other supported scripts) that enabled the creation of interactive ...
homepage teasers, more focus on user-centric interaction and a simplified channel structure. The site launched before the advent of Time Inc.'s Pathfinder.com site, and the emergence of independent web magazines such as Feed,
Word A word is a basic element of language that carries semantics, meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no consensus among linguist ...
, and
Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...
. HotWired's initial business model was 'corporate sponsorship', which quickly led to the design of the 'ad banner' display areas still in use today. The first
banner ad A web banner or banner ad is a Online Advertising, form of advertising on the World Wide Web delivered by an ad server. This form of online advertising entails embedding an advertisement into a web page. It is intended to attract web traffic, tra ...
on the internet was an AT&T ad featured on the site in 1994. The first direct marketing focused ads were sold by David Hyman to Virtual Vineyards. Under the leadership of Rex Briggs, HotWired was the first to measure the effectiveness of online advertising, and among the first to attempt behavioral targeting and the first to apply real-time
web analytics Web analytics is the measurement, data collection, collection, analysis, and reporting of web Data (computing), data to understand and optimize web usage. Web analytics is not just a process for measuring web traffic but can be used as a tool for ...
, known as “HotStats.” Wired Ventures' online division was acquired by Lycos, Inc. in October 1998, a year after
Condé Nast Condé Nast () is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Nast (businessman), Condé Montrose Nast (1873–1942) and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the FiDi, Financial Dis ...
acquired Wired Magazine. It launched "HotWired 5.0" in September as an aggregator of Wired News and an archive of old HotWired content, slashing fresh editorial content except for Suck and Webmonkey. In 2006, Lycos turned the domain into a pay-per-click advertising hub, seemingly marking the definitive end of Hotwired as an online magazine. However, in July 2006, Condé Nast acquired both Webmonkey and the Hotwired domain from Lycos, and Webmonkey was relaunched in May 2008.


Projects and sites

Projects and sites published under the Hotwired banner from 1994 to 1999 include: *Adrenaline (1994–1996)-Daily Magazine of Alternative Sports developed and edited by Caitlin Pulleyblank. Magazine linked to an Interactive database of play spots on a graphical interface ealtime surf data, climbing data located (latitude/longitude), ultimate teams, mountain bike trails, rafting locations with posted CFS data *Animation Express (1998–2002) - Curated collection of animated short films presented in Flash, Shockwave, and QuickTime formats. *Ask Dr. Weil (1996-1997) - Steven Petrow was the founding editor of Dr. Andrew Weil's integrative medicine site. *Beta Lounge (1997–1999) - Live DJ channel *Brain Tennis (1996–1997) - Debate as a spectator's sport *Cocktail (1996–1997) - Recipes for, history of, and variations on cocktails *DaveNet (1995–1996) -
Dave Winer Dave Winer (born May 2, 1955, in Queens, New York City) is an American software developer, entrepreneur, and writer who resides in New York City. Winer is noted for his contributions to outliners, scripting, content management, and web service ...
's developer musings *Dream Jobs (1995–1998) - Inspiring people & company profiles *Geek of the Week (1997–1998) - Weekly featured member page of HotWired members around the world *
HotBot HotBot is a Canadian web search engine owned by HotBot Limited, whose key principal is Kristen Richardson. The search engine was initially launched in North America in 1996 by ''Wired'' magazine. During the 1990s, it was one of the most popul ...
(1996–Present) - Search Engine (partnered with
Inktomi Inktomi Corporation was an American Internet service provider (ISP) software developer based in Foster City, California. Customers included Microsoft, HotBot, Amazon.com, eBay, and Walmart. The company developed Traffic Server, a proxy se ...
) *Intelligent Agent (1995) - Travel through the minds of Rudy Rucker, Randy Shilts, Joshua Quittner, and others. *Member Pages (1997–1998) - Template-based do-it-yourself homepage profiles of users *Muckraker (1995–1996) - Brock N. Meeks follows the Net from Washington, DC. *Netizen (1996–1997) - The first website to cover a presidential election, featuring daily writing from John Heilemann and Jon Katz, edited by David Weir. Where politics, digital culture, and the high-tech industry intersect; *Net Soup (1995–1996) - Listservs and newsgroup postings. *Net Surf (1997) - Events of the Net industry. *Net Surf Central (1995–1996) - An interactive database of the cool Web sites of 1996 *Packet (1997–1998) - Intelligence from the technological frontier, featuring Michael Schrage, Brooke Shelby Biggs,
Simson Garfinkel Simson L. Garfinkel (born 1965) is an American computer scientist. He is the Chief Scientist and Chief Operating Officer of BasisTech in Somerville, Massachusetts. He was previously a program scientist at AI2050, part of Schmidt Futures. He ...
, Steve Silberman, and
Mark Frauenfelder Mark Frauenfelder (born November 22, 1960) is an American blogger, illustrator, and journalist. He was editor-in-chief of the magazine '' MAKE'' and is co-owner of the collaborative weblog ''Boing Boing''. Along with his wife, Carla Sinclair, he ...
) *Piazza (1994–1995) - the first communication forum within HotWired, including "Threads" (conferencing system) and "Club Wired" - (a live, Telnet-based chat system customized by Laura La Gassa - hosted by Will Kreth and Susanna Camp) *Pop (1995–1996) - Michael Small oversaw arts coverage (articles, reviews, interviews, streaming audio, chats) featuring editors/writers John Alderman, Rob Levine, Ian Christe, and Sarah Borruso. *Renaissance 2.0 (1994–1995) - HotWired's original art and literary channel, managed by Gary Wolf with illustrations by Sabine Messner *RGB Gallery - Electronic art collection *Signal (1994–1996) - What did e-commerce, e-politics, and e-culture look like in 1995? *
Suck Suck may refer to: *Suction, the force exerted by a partial vacuum * .sucks, an Internet top-level domain Arts and entertainment Music * Suck (band), a South African hard rock group * Suck, drummer for the 1990s Japanese punk band Teengenerat ...
(1995–2001) - Web and media commentary redefining the word 'sarcastic' *Synapse (1997–1998) - Colorful, interactive viewpoints on technology and culture, featuring Jon Katz *Talk.com (1996–1998) - Live chats and interviews *Test Patterns (1996) - What HotWired employees did in their spare time *The Rough Guide (1995—1998) - Online travel library in partnership with Rough Guides *Web 101 (1997–1999) - Your smart introduction to the Net. *
Webmonkey Webmonkey was an online tutorial website composed of various articles on building webpages from backend to frontend. The site covered many aspects of developing on the web like programming, database, multimedia, and setting up web storefronts. The ...
(1996–2002) - Web programming tips and techniques *World Beat (1994–1995) - Travel


See also

* ''
Wired News ''Wired'' is a bi-monthly American magazine that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. It is published in both print and online editions by Condé Nast. The magazine has been in publication since its l ...
''


References


External links

*
Looking back at Hotwired
at veen.com (history of interfaces) * * * Kreth, Will

Retrieved 19 April 2005. * Hall, Justin
Justin Hall @ HotWired
Retrieved 19 April 2005.
A demo version of the HotWired site from 1995
* {{Webby Awards, cat=Politics+law, year=1997, type=winner, cat2=Art, year2=1998, type2=Nominee Internet properties established in 1994 Magazines established in 1994 Magazines disestablished in 1999 Internet properties disestablished in 1999 Online magazines published in the United States Webby Award winners Defunct magazines published in the United States Defunct websites 1994 establishments in the United States