The Inquisitr » interactivecorp

IAC Now Alpha Testing How-To-Style Site

JR — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 22:38:03 +0000

InterActiveCorp’s as-of-yet unannounced new project is now online and in alpha testing.

Life123 — the company’s venture into the world of how-to web sites — is publicly accessible, though not being promoted, PC World reports. News of the project first broke back in April, when the site was rumored to be called Life333.com. That domain, incidentally, is still registered to IAC Search and Media, though it no longer points to IAC’s servers.

The newly numbered project features content organized into 11 main categories: Beauty & Style, Celebrations, Food & Drink, Health & Wellness, Home & Garden, Money, Parenting & Family, Relationships, Technology, Travel & Leisure, and Work. You can search for how-to-style material within any of those areas, bringing up articles on everything from writing thank you notes to breaking up with someone.

From eHow and WikiHow to more recent launches such as FindHow, there’s plenty of competition in the how-to space. IAC’s still-under-development offering aims to set itself apart with ample partner content — both in the form of IAC-owned sites and unrelated properties — and with more user-driven presentation options. Visitors can opt to receive content in long-form articles, short-form articles, or videos.

IAC doesn’t have a target date for a full launch as of yet — though it does have a conference call related to its second quarter earnings scheduled for Wednesday morning. IAC isn’t saying whether the call might include a first mention of the new site.

IAC Takes $170 Million Hit

JR — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:45:47 +0000

InterActiveCorp — owner of Ask.com and other big league web services — is taking a $170 million hit due to decreasing values.

The company has announced a $100 million drop for its lending division, which houses LendingTree.com. It’s also seeing a $70 million drop in its real estate sector, which includes RealEstate.com. IAC blames the bad housing market for the losses.

The company is still planning to break itself up into five separate and independent companies by the end of next month. IAC will handle the Ask.com sites. The other newly formed corporations will be in charge of lending and real estate, home shopping, ticketing, and time-share services.

IAC made headlines just a couple of months ago when it acquired Dictionary.com — adding that site, Thesaurus.com, and Reference.com into its Ask arsenal — and then, a week later, bought out StarNet Interactive. StarNet ran the teen-targeted GirlSense site, which matched up nicely with IAC’s similarly teen-focused Zwinky service.

Ask.com

Zwinky

IAC Expands Its Teen Empire

JR — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:58:24 +0000

Ask.com parent company InterActiveCorp is expanding its hold on the world of teenage girls.

IAC has acquired StarNet Interactive, most known for its GirlSense site aimed at young teens. The site offers girls the opportunity to “become part of a fashion community, enjoy dress up games, create [their] own fashions, and communicate safely via notes.” GirlSense boasts 13 million users.

IAC owns similarly themed Zwinky, making the new marriage a logical match.

“Part of our growth strategy includes acquisition of products and companies that complement our core competencies,” IAC executive John Park said in his announcement today.

“Adding Girlsense.com to our existing teen targeted product portfolio provides us with broader teen mindshare, and access to the coveted tween demographic.”

IAC acquired Dictionary.com in a deal completed just last week.