FRESNO -- The
Tower2000.com owner will mount an aggressive push to transform its Arts
& Entertainment Web site into a local Internet News & Entertainment Portal
its top executives said on Saturday.
The Palo Alto based ISP is also considering whether or not it should spin off its
Web design-services unit or some of its interactive Web properties.
Speaking to Fresno Republican Newspaper reporters at the Mid-Year Media Corporate Conference, an annual meeting of sponsors and Silicon Valley backers, Web Portal Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tom Hobbs said an effort to recast the Tower2000.com Web site from its world famous virtual reality time-warp into a regional Internet News & Entertainment portal would be underway by midweek. The effort, he said, would "cost Web Portal Inc. $8,000 or more" but "should attract more customers through related ad-banner and classsified ad revenues and online sales by participating Tower merchants' Web site stores."
Hobbs said Tower2000.com had lots of visibility with an local, state, and international audience who would turn to the Web site for information on upcoming shows and social activities. In addition to the Tower 2000 Newspaper, Mr. Hobbs said the Web site would encompass local news and information with a greater Fresno area focus.
Mr. Hobbs said the unit should function well either as a company subsidiary or as a public company that it is now. He said the company was considering options to promote long-term shareholder value, and that a public spin-off could represent one way of achieving that goal. During his presentation, he told the crowd that Web Portal Inc. would have to weigh whether it would be better to manage itself as a single entity or as a constellation.
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