From...

by Dan Goodin

(IDG) -- It's an Internet paradox: The Net makes it easy to move reams of information from place to place, but with all the traffic, it's hard to get anyone to notice it. As one bid for attention, many e-mail users attach contact information, simple drawings and pithy quotes to the ends of e-mails, using what are called signature files. But although they work at first, these text-based messages eventually seem like clutter.

Now some companies are offering new solutions. Clickmail is expected to announce today a product called Favemail, which will attach Web-based graphics to e-mail. The company is also expected to change its corporate name to Expression Engines. The announcement comes a week after Epidemic announced a similar product for adding images that are stored online to e-mail. The companies join Supersig, which has likewise unveiled a similar product.

MORE COMPUTING INTELLIGENCE

IDG.net home page

The Standard.com

Industry Standard email newsletters

Industry Standard daily Media Grok

E-BusinessWorld

Reviews & in-depth info at IDG.net

IDG.net's personal news page

Year 2000 World

Questions about computers? Let IDG.net's editors help you

Subscribe to IDG.net's free daily newsletter for computer industry cognoscenti

Search IDG.net in 12 languages

News Radio

Fusion audio primers

Computerworld Minute

The new products provide more than just a nice way to illustrate e-mail. All three incorporate graphics into signature files that pitch movies, services and products. And all three services are vague on exactly how they intend to make money. Generally speaking, they'll get paid when the recipient of an e-mail clicks on an advertisement and buys something. In turn, the startups will give a cut of the revenue to the person who put the ad in the e-mail to begin with.

Thus have signature files become the latest frontier in so-called affiliate marketing, where goods and services come recommended by a trusted third party. "What we've done is take that tell-a-friend concept to the next level," says P.J. Stafford, Clickmail's chief executive.

The ability to seamlessly integrate graphics into e-mail has existed for some time. But previously, the text of the e-mail had to be accompanied by a bulky graphics file, making the package difficult to transfer. These services, however, add only a simple line of HTML code to the e-mail – the same code that runs most Web sites. The difference saves time in downloading the e-mail.

So far, Epidemic is winning the fund-raising battle, having secured $4.5 million from Sequel Venture Partners and World Ventures, both in Boulder, Colo. With $2.5 million from Flatiron Partners in New York, Clickmail is second. Supersig recently received $1 million in seed funding; the company says it's working on a first round.

But the question remains: Will people actually want to turn their e-mail into product and service endorsements? It's a risk the companies acknowledge. "For most people, the idea of plastering banner ads across their personal e-mail is pretty icky," concedes Mark Jeffrey, CEO of Supersig. "We feel strongly that users are going to react very badly if we do it wrong."

Accordingly, the services are pitching themselves as a way to spruce up e-mail and add a little personality. In addition to attaching ads for movies, music or Internet service providers, users can append unique graphics to their e-mails, such as business cards or their favorite musical acts. Epidemic CEO Kelly Wanser says the order is not too tall, given people's natural tendency to promote the products they love and pan the ones they hate.

"The opportunities for people to earn money for doing something they already do will be attractive," she says.