“Undercut by a free, open-source competitor, directory
provider LookSmart has gone from charging portals for its data to
paying them to use it.“
“The switch was dramatically illustrated by today’s announcement
that AltaVista has signed a deal making LookSmart its exclusive
directory provider. Whereas AltaVista once paid to use LookSmart’s
editorially produced Web directory, LookSmart will now pay millions
of dollars for the privilege of providing that data to
AltaVista.”
“The move has turned the world of directory licensing
upside-down for the second time in just over a year. In April 1999,
the volunteer-compiled Open Directory Project (ODP) rocked the
search and directory market by scoring major portal Lycos as a
client of its free offering.”