Doug
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New York Times - June 19, 2000
COMPRESSED DATA; Web Site Challenges Chat-Room Status Quo By LAURIE J. FLYNN
Few marketing gimmicks challenge the status quo as much as im-ur.com, the brainchild of Jonathan Shem-Ur, an Israeli former journalist turned Web entrepreneur.
In a twist on the traditional chat room, Mr. Shem-Ur is producing a site with 4,000 discussion areas, sections where anybody can post opinions, offer advice and engage in debate on assorted subjects. Each day, the comments posted in each area are displayed in the format of a newspaper's editorial page.
The more an opinion is read, the more prominently the opinion is displayed in the daily forum.
The site also takes an unusual approach to advertising: participants will see ads only if they want to, rather than being barraged with banner ads on every page. To view an ad, the reader clicks on a ''relevant ads'' logo.
The site officially started last week, but without advertising at first. The company said it wanted to build its audience before trying to sell ads.
Mr. Shem-Ur says he wants to turn the Web into a great town square, much like an ancient Greek agora, where people can air their opinions freely. He said the standard Internet chat room, plastered with banner ads, was too chaotic.
For a celebrity spokesman, Mr. Shem-Ur has hired Judge Joseph Wapner, formerly of television's ''The People's Court'' and now wielding the gavel on ''Judge Wapner's Animal Court.''
''You could always have your say in my court,'' Judge Wapner said in a statement released by the company. ''And that's what im-ur.com is all about -- having your say.''
The question is, will advertisers agree to have their say the im-ur way?