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February 24, 2000

Ten Fast Facts

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Activate.net

WHO:
A privately held operating company of CMGI Inc., founded in 1997 by Jeff Shrock and Chris Maskill.

WHAT:
Uses streaming technology to provide audio, video and data over the Internet.

WHERE:
Headquarters in Seattle with offices in New York, Toronto and the Bay Area.

Fast Fact #1: Activate.net recently formed a strategic partnership with The Carson Group.

Comment: The Carson Group is a leading provider of market intelligence and support services to the financial community. The partnership will enable "IPO road shows" to be delivered -- or streamed -- live for the first time over the Internet.

Fast Fact #2: The practice required approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Comment: The so-called road shows are where private companies woo investors for their initial public offerings of stock. The SEC's primary concern is the security of Activate.net's feeds. Only qualified investor firms with the expertise to weigh the stock's true value are supposed to see and hear IPO pitches, explains Stewart Chapin, senior vice president of marketing. That way, the general public is protected against possible fraud.

Fast Fact #3: The Carson Group participated in more than 600 IPOs last year.

Comment: Based in New York, the Carson Group helps companies identify investor firms likely to be interested in underwriting their IPO. Traditionally, companies then must visit those firms to make live presentations. However, by using the Internet, they can make simultaneous, interactive presentations to multiple investors without leaving their home offices.

Fast Fact #4: Activate.net already delivers 1,000 streaming events per month.

Comment: That's up from 100 a year ago as customers have gone from testing the waters to using streaming widely and regularly, says Chapin. Along the way, the company has grown from 15 employees to 110 and moved from a 3,600-square-foot office into 60,000 square feet of space. And instead of one satellite dish on the roof, it boasts four.

Fast Fact #5: Activate.net provides complete streaming solutions.

Comment: Supplying audio and video -- live or taped -- over the Internet is a complex process involving specialized servers, networks and software. Activate.net handles every aspect -- from sending production crews to capture live events to converting the signals for the Internet to sending the sound and pictures to their intended audience. "Many of our customers (including Microsoft and Dell) are technically adept," says Chapin. "They could do this themselves, but they choose not to because it's not their core competency."

Fast Fact #6: Activate.net combines technology it has developed itself with products from other companies.

Comment: "We're not trying to beat Real Networks or Microsoft at what they do," says Chapin. "Just the contrary. We are very good customers of those companies. What we bring to the party is ... we knit together a whole bunch of technologies."

Fast Fact #7: Activate.net's primary market is business communication.

Comment: Some radio stations already use streaming technology to transmit over the Internet. Television stations could follow suit. However, Chapin believes streaming's ideal use involves more select audiences. Corporate announcements, sales meetings and earnings reports "are the real sweet spot," he says. "Think about any [situation] where someone stands up in a room of people or gets on a large conference call." In the case of one Activate.net client, Rivals.com, that includes "coach's corner" interview shows. Besides supplying event-oriented content, streaming also can be used to enrich any standing Web site with taped sound or videos.

Fast Fact #8: CMGI acquired Activate.net last year.

Comment: The Massachusetts-based company is at the hub of a network of 50 Internet companies. Some, such as Activate.net and AltaVista, are majority-owned operating companies. Others, such as Lycos, have been invested in by CMGI's venture capital affiliate, @Ventures. Shrock remains Activate's CEO and Maskill is vice president.

Fast Fact #9: Activate.net expects to work closely with other CMGI companies in the future.

Comments: In some cases, that already has happened. At the height of the Clinton impeachment proceedings, Activate teamed with AltaVista to host indexed streaming video of the grand jury testimony.

Fast Fact #10: The ultimate demand for streaming media remains a moving target.

Comment: "We are still on the early part of the growth curve," says Chapin. Although Activate.net faces competition, "it's not a winner-take-all market," he says. Chapin still is waiting to see definitive research, but he believes the industry will generate billions of dollars in annual sales.



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