WebChat Broadcasting System: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 04:27, 13 May 2024

Revision as of 04:32, 13 May 2024

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[[Internet Relay Chat|IRC]] had existed as a dedicated chatting network but was mostly used by seasoned Internet users. Chat websites capitalized on the growing base of Internet general users by providing a simpler, more attractive chatting interface. Chatting became focused on community and socialization.<ref name="yahoo" />

InBy August 1996, WBS had 500,000 registered users and was growing by over 3,000 users per day.

In February 1997, WBS reached a milestone of 1 million registered users, accruing 4,000 new registered users and 5.5 million page views every day. Registrations were not confirmed. At this point, it was featuring 200 individual affinity groups. Within a week of the launch of a new feature to allow members to create their own home pages, over 15,000 members had begun using it.<ref name="1_million_accounts">{{Cite press release | url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1997_Feb_3/ai_19082095/ | title=WebChat Broadcasting System hits 1 million registered users | ___location=Menlo Park, California | publisher=[[Business Wire]], [[FindArticles]] | date=3 February 1997 | access-date=28 November 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619111447/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1997_Feb_3/ai_19082095/ | archive-date=19 June 2006 | url-status=dead}}</ref>

InBy May 1997, WBS had grown to 1.4 million registered users. The other large web chat community at this time was WebGenesis Inc.'s [[theGlobe.com|The Globe]]. Also internet service provider [[AOL]] had over 14,000 chat rooms available to their customers through their non-web interface.<ref name="business_week">{{Cite news | first=Robert D | last=Hof | title=Breaking out of the yak pack | work=Business Week | publisher=McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. | date=May 5, 1997 | url=http://www.businessweek.com/1997/18/b35257.htm | access-date=19 August 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970617020734/http://www.businessweek.com/1997/18/b35257.htm | archive-date=17 June 1997 | url-status=dead}}</ref>

In June 1997, WBS hit 1.5 million registered users and had 7 million daily page views with over 200 rooms.<ref name="business_journal">{{Cite news | first=Lorna | last=Fernandes | title=Techweek - WebChat serves 1.5 million | work=Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal | date=20 June 1997 | url=http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/1997/06/23/newscolumn2.html | access-date=19 August 2009 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20200523110005/http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/1997/06/23/newscolumn2.html#selection-417.0-417.26 | archive-date=23 May 2020 | url-status=dead}}</ref>

WBS frequently hosted real-time multimedia programming events, which onlybecame increasedmore frequent as its popularity grew. Such events attracted many celebrities such as [[Tom Clancy]], the celebrity cast of [[Star Trek]], bands [[Soundgarden]] and [[Metallica]], the former president of [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]], Lawrence Grossman fromand [[NBC|NBC News]], Lawrence Grossman, United States Senator [[Arlen Specter]], [[Intel]] CEO [[Andy Grove]] and feminist [[Gloria Steinem]].<ref name="1_million_accounts" /><ref>{{Cite press release | title=Internet Users Flock to WebChat Broadcasting System; Site Now the Largest Chatting Hub on the World Wide Web | ___location=Menlo Park, California | publisher=Business Wire, FindArticles | date=20 November 1995 | url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1995_Nov_20/ai_17769738 | access-date=23 May 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090912013719/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1995_Nov_20/ai_17769738 | archive-date=12 September 2009 | url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Rise of instant messaging===