Bristol, RI – June 3, 2005 – IMR and SWEPA Merge to Create the New Mequoda Library, The Interactive Resource for Building Better Websites
Two of the publishing industry’s leading membership websites, Internet Media Review and SWEPA (Subscription Website Publishers Association), have merged to create the Mequoda Library, the interactive resource for building better websites. The Mequoda Library (www.Mequoda.com) went live on June 3, 2005.
“The rapid growth of online marketing and publishing has created an almost desperate need for shared industry best practices,” said Don Nicholas, Editor and Managing Director of the Mequoda Group, LLC (formerly Digital Media Advisors, LLC). “At every conference I attend, every conversation I hear and every publisher I meet, I am assailed by an unfulfilled desire to understand where online publishing and marketing is going.
“The merger of SWEPA and IMR fits both our constituencies well. Between us, we offer users more than 300 articles, reports and reviews that chronicle the state-of-the-art, as we know it today, of website publishing,” said Nicholas.
Under the merger agreement, Peter A. Schaible, formerly the Director of SWEPA, joins the Mequoda Group as Editor-at-Large. Kim Mateus, formerly the Managing Editor of Internet Media Review, becomes the Managing Editor for the Mequoda Library.
Over the coming weeks, Mateus and Schaible will be responsible for launching the Mequoda Forum and the Mequoda Commentaries. These new features will empower Mequoda Library members to interact in real time, on a peer-to-peer basis, with the Library’s 15 expert authors. These include: Don Nicholas, Roxanne O’Connell, John Alexander, Lizzie Babarczy, Micah Baldwin, Robert W. Bly, Alexandria K. Brown, John Clausen, Terri Edmonston, Fred Gleeck, Larry Kerstein, Stephen Laliberte, Robin Nobles, Roger C. Parker, Jim Sinkinson and Jane Zarem.
In a related statement, Digital Media Advisors, LLC, announced it has changed its name to Mequoda Group, LLC, to coincide with the launch of the Mequoda Library and several other websites in the Mequoda Network that will be announced later this year. The Mequoda Group provides consulting, research and development services to help publishers sell existing print products online and create new online revenue streams.
Please visit www.Mequoda.com for more information. Credentialed members of the media trade press are encouraged to contact Kim Mateus (Kim@Mequoda.com) for questions, comments and complimentary full access.
FAQs
1. What is the Mequoda Library?
The Mequoda Library is an interactive membership website that offers website publishers best practice information for building better websites. The Library is updated weekly with 3-to-5 new skill builders, website reviews, landing page reviews, website profiles and resource reviews, all aimed at helping website publishers succeed. Library research is authored by over 15 industry experts and best-selling authors. Interested parties are encouraged to sign up for a 14-day FREE trial. Credentialed members of the media trade press are encouraged to contact Kim Mateus for questions, comments and complimentary full access.
2. What happens to SWEPA members?
SWEPA members get to enjoy continued access to Peter A. Schaible, as he will be moderating the Mequoda Forum. They also get continued access to SWEPA archives that are now available at the Mequoda Library. Additionally, Schaible will write content for the Library that is specific to membership websites. This content, written on a weekly basis, will include membership website reviews, landing page reviews for membership websites, membership website profiles and skill builders that feature best practices for membership websites.
3. What makes the Mequoda Library interactive?
We provide two ways for our members to interact with each other and with our expert team of editors. One way is through the Mequoda Commentaries. The Commentaries are an opportunity for our members to respond instantly to each and every article that is published at the Library. Using technology customized by iProduction, the Mequoda Group’s official hosting company, Library members can respond immediately to an article they’ve read using the Commentaries feature located at the bottom of each article.
The Library will also feature the Mequoda Forum. Members will be able to share ideas, suggest topics and ask questions. Schaible, who previously moderated the discussion forum at SWEPA, will moderate. While not a new feature for SWEPA members, for former IMR members, it is an added bonus that was not previously available.
4. How current are the 300+ article reports and reviews?
IMR launched in early September 2004, so the research does not predate 2004. The SWEPA archives, handpicked by Schaible, will not predate 2002. And with 3-to-5 new reports and reviews being updated weekly, Mequoda Library members can be assured that the content is always fresh.
5. What do the 300+ articles and reviews include?
The 300+ articles include website design reviews, website profiles, skill builders, landing page reviews, industry interviews and resource reviews.
6. Can you give me some specific examples of the articles I can find in the Mequoda Library?
Some skill builder examples include: Generating Website Revenue, The Mequoda System, 1-2-3s of Usability Testing, 10 Steps to Manage a New Website Launch, 14 Website Design Guidelines, Strategic Website Management, Consumer Magazine Website Design and How to Double Print Sales Online.
Some website profile examples include: ConsumerReports.org, Forbes.com, CBSNews.com, IMDb.com, Amazon, LendingTree.com, MediaBistro.com, TheBookReportNetwork.com, VarietyCareers.com, Harvard Business School Publishing and Yoga Journal.
Some website review examples include: AccountsPayableNetwork.com, BLR.com, Computerworld.com, WSJ.com, WebMD.com, Ragan.com, AutoTrader.com, Insurance.com, Atkins.com, eBay, WineSpecator.com and TheBookStandard.com.
Some landing page reviews include: SuperAffiliateHandbook.com, Louis Rukeyser and Morningstar.
7. How much does it cost to belong to the Mequoda Library?
An introductory annual membership to the Mequoda Library costs $89.
8. What does Mequoda mean?
It’s a term we use to describe best practices for website publishing. Our staff began using the word to describe anything that we thought was a best practice for online publishing and marketing. Our intention is that eventually, the word Mequoda will become synonymous with building better websites.
9. Why did Digital Media Advisors change its name to Mequoda Group?
We realized that from a branding perspective, it would be in our best interest to ultimately share the same brand name with other websites in our network. To date, our website network is composed of two websites, the Mequoda Library and the Mequoda Group website. Over the next several months, we will be announcing new website launches that will form the Mequoda Website Network. Each website in the Mequoda network will be dedicated to helping information marketers build better websites.
[text_ad]
