From...

April 19, 1999
Web posted at: 10:32 a.m. EDT (1432 GMT)

In this story: Do your own Things Windows Media Things RELATED STORIES, SITES

by David Needle

(IDG) -- What's a "Thing?"

Millions of Web users may soon know if a startup Internet media company called ThingWorld.com succeeds.

ThingWorld.com's Things are multimedia objects such as animated characters, logos, games, and screen savers. And they come with a twist: A proprietary technology protects and tracks the use of these objects over the Internet. Publishers can restrict the use of their content in different ways, such as limiting distribution to certain Web sites or including links back to their own site when an image is clicked.

"The problem with the Web is it's not a secure environment for anything--including logos and brand images," says Jae Kim, an analyst with Paul Kagan Associates in Monterey, California. "ThingWorld.com addresses how you protect the integrity of images."

ThingWorld.com has attracted financial backing from Intel, Microsoft, and other heavyweights. And it has quietly entered into licensing agreements with a diverse group of companies including the Worldwide Wrestling Federation, Davidbowie.com, and the television show South Park.

ThingWorld.com worked with the WWF, for example, to create a screen saver and other Things that alerted users to pay-per-view events as well as WWF merchandise. In a three-week period more than 215,000 members registered to gain access to the WWF Things area at WWF.com and there were over 93,000 downloads of the official WWF Thingscreensaver.

ThingWorld.com also has a network of relationships with such popular Web destinations as Geocities, Lycos, Tripod, and theglobe.com to distribute and promote Things.

Do your own Things

Things avoid problems like the one Paramount had last year: The company angered Star Trek fans by threatening legal action against a fan Web site that was using copyrighted images from the show without permission.

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Many other companies and individuals have faced the same issue of the misuse of copyright and trademark material by Web sites--whether they be fans, critics, or competitors.

"It's not that companies want to shut people down, but they need to protect assets," says Maura Welch General Manager of Marketing at ThingWorld.com. Welch says the Internet is littered with ill-gotten copyrighted material that do very little if anything to help the companies who own them.

As an example of a lost opportunity, Welch notes the famous dancing baby that first appeared on the Ally McBeal TV show. After being on TV, the dancing baby had more than the requisite fifteen minutes of fame when it started popping up on Web sites around the world. "A software developer created that baby and he missed a great chance to let everyone know who he was," says Welch.

"Working with ThingWorld.com, content owners know where their content gets used, and can leverage that content to drive dollars," says Steve Barlow, chair of ThingWorld.com.

Windows Media Things

At Internet World in Los Angeles this week ThingWorld.com announced it will integrate the Windows Media Rights Manager feature of Microsoft's new Windows Media Technologies 4.0.

All Thing-based content created for Windows Media Technologies 4.0 can contain hot spots with direct links ("click-backs") to a specific destination such as a Web site, electronic-commerce offering, or membership sign-up. Fans can take interactive branded content and save it for republishing on their home pages, or download a screen saver that contains a variety of content. Each piece of content is designed to drive merchandise sales or traffic.

"I think the relationship with Microsoft is key and I wouldn't be surprised if ThingWorld.com does something with Internet Explorer," says analyst Kagan.

Noting Intel's investment, Kagan says the chip giant isn't interested in anything Internet-related unless it has broadband potential. "When we get to full-motion video over the Internet then we're closer to something like interactive television," says Kagan. "The problem with advertising on the Web today is that it's a shotgun approach you hope works. What you want is a smart bomb and I think ThingWorld.com is it."

Others are less sure. "There is a long history of companies that went out to protect digital property," says Jeff Tarter, editor of the Softletter newsletter. "They usually either went out of business or ended up in an esoteric niche. I suspect the biggest market for ThingWorld.com is where you see the most piracy of images, namely the porn sites."