View source for Lycos

{{Short description|Search engine and web portal}}
{{about|the search engine|the former corporation Terra Lycos|Terra Networks|the defunct European venture|Lycos Europe}}
{{Infobox website
| name = Lycos, Inc.
| logo = Lycos logo.png
| screenshot = Lycos screenshot.png
| screenshot_size = 250
| caption = A screenshot of Lycos.com as of 2015
| location = [[Waltham, Massachusetts]], United States
| founder = [[Michael Loren Mauldin]]
| revenue = $250 million (2009)<ref>{{cite news| title = Lycos Sold To India's Ybrant Digital For $36 Million| first = Nikhil| last = Pahwa| url = http://www.medianama.com/2010/08/223-lycos-ybrant/ | newspaper = MediaNama| location = India | date = August 16, 2010 | access-date = August 17, 2010 }}</ref>
| parent = Ybrant Digital (Brightcom Group)<ref name="Ybrant1">{{cite web |url=https://info.lycos.com/resources/privacy-policy/ |title=Lycos Privacy Policy|website=Lycos.com |date=May 11, 2023}}</ref>
| url = {{URL|https://www.lycos.com/|lycos.com}}
| advertising = 
| registration = Optional
| language = Multilingual
| company_type = [[Subsidiary]]
| foundation = {{start date and age|1994|5}}<br />[[Pittsburgh]], [[Pennsylvania]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| key_people = Suresh Reddy, CEO of Ybrant Digital<ref name="Ybrant2">{{cite web |url=https://www.brightcomgroup.com/newsroom/media-coverage/ybrant-digital-and-lgs-global-propose-to-merge-creating-a-global-digital-marketing-powerhouse/ |title=Suresh Reddy is CEO of Ybrant Digital|website=e27.co |date=August 10, 2015}}</ref>
| operating_income = 
| net_income = 
| num_employees = 
| website_type = [[Web search engine|Search engine]] and [[web portal]]
| launch_date = {{start date and age|1995|4|13}}
| current_status = Active
}}
'''Lycos, Inc.''' (stylized as '''LYCOS'''), is a [[web search engine]] and [[web portal]] established in 1994, spun out of [[Carnegie Mellon University]]. Lycos also encompasses a network of email, web hosting, social networking, and entertainment websites. The company is based in [[Waltham, Massachusetts]], and is a subsidiary of Ybrant Digital.

== Etymology ==
The word "Lycos" is short for "Lycosidae", which is [[Latin]] for "[[wolf spider]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://searchenginewatch.com/sew/news/2063925/whats-in-a-search-engines-name |title=What's In A (Search Engine's) Name? |last=Sherman |first=Chris |date=2003-10-08 |website=Search Engine Watch |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150103053032/http://searchenginewatch.com/sew/news/2063925/whats-in-a-search-engines-name |archive-date=2015-01-03 |access-date=2019-02-13}}</ref>

==History==
{{More citations needed|section|date=January 2019}}
{{update|section|date=January 2019}}
Lycos is a [[university spin-off]] that began in May 1994 as a research project by [[Michael Loren Mauldin]] of [[Carnegie Mellon University]] in [[Pittsburgh]]. '''Lycos Inc.''' was formed with approximately US$2 million in [[venture capital]] funding from [[CMGI]]. [[Bob Davis (businessman)|Bob Davis]] became the CEO and first employee of the new company in 1995, and concentrated on building the company into an advertising-supported [[web portal]], led by Bill Townsend, who served as Vice President, Advertising. Lycos enjoyed several years of growth during the 1990s and became the most visited online destination in the world in 1999, with a global presence in more than 40 countries.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/google0000scot |url-access=registration |title=Internet Archive |first=Virginia A. |last=Scott |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Worlock |first=David |title=Paradigm Lost |url=http://www.davidworlock.com/2010/08/ |access-date=April 14, 2013 |date=August 20, 2010}}</ref>

In April 1996, the company completed the fastest [[initial public offering]] from inception to offering in [[NASDAQ]] (LCOS) history, ending its first day with a market value of $300 million. It also became the first search engine to go public, before its big rivals [[Yahoo!]] and [[Excite (web portal)|Excite]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/lycos-ipo-bodes-well-for-net-stock/ |title=Lycos IPO bodes well for Net stock |website=CNET |language=en |access-date=2019-01-28}}</ref> Lycos started offering [[e-mail]] services in October 1997,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/yahoo-buys-four11-for-free-email/ |title=Yahoo buys Four11 for free email |last=Pelline |first=Jeff |website=CNET |language=en |access-date=2019-01-28}}</ref> the same year it became one of the first profitable [[Internet]] businesses in the world. In 1998, Lycos acquired [[Tripod.com]] for $58 million in an attempt to "break into the portal market".<ref>{{cite news |last=Price |first=Christopher |title=Gateway to the future: Christopher Price gives the lowdown on the sites which offer not only a way into the worldwide web but so much more |work=[[Financial Times]] |page=16 |date=December 15, 1998}}</ref>

[[Lycos Europe]] was a joint venture between Lycos and the [[Bertelsmann]] transnational media corporation, but it has always been a distinct corporate entity. Although Lycos Europe remains the largest of Lycos's overseas ventures, several other Lycos subsidiaries also entered into joint venture agreements including Lycos Canada, Lycos Korea and Lycos Asia.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lycos Asia seeks speed and performance |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/lycos-asia-seeks-speed-and-performance/ |work=[[ZDNet]] |date=January 17, 2001}}</ref>

Lycos was one of the most popular websites on the internet, ranking 8th in 1997, and peaking at 4th in both 1999 and 2001.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://tech.co/news/top-20-popular-websites-1996-present-infographic-2014-12 |title=Infographic: Top 20 Most Popular Websites (1996-2013) |date=2014-12-26 |website=TechCo |language=en |access-date=2019-02-03}}</ref>

On May 16, 2000, near the peak of the [[dot-com bubble]], Lycos announced its intent to be acquired by [[Terra Networks]], the Internet arm of the Spanish telecommunications giant {{Lang|es|[[Telefónica]]|italic=no}}, for $12.5 billion.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://money.cnn.com/2000/05/16/europe/terra/ |title=Lycos in $12.5B deal |first=David |last=Kleinbard |work=[[CNN]] |date=May 16, 2000}}</ref> The acquisition price represented a return of nearly 3,000 times the company's initial venture capital investment and about 20 times its initial public offering valuation.<ref name=":0" /> The transaction closed in October 2000 and the merged company was renamed Terra Lycos, although the Lycos brand continued to be used in the United States. Overseas, the company continued to be known as Terra Networks.

Having been set back by the dot-com bubble burst, Lycos abandoned its own search crawler in late 2001, and started using [[Microsoft Development Center Norway|FAST]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=http://www.thehistoryofseo.com/The-Industry/Short_History_of_Early_Search_Engines.aspx |title=Short History of Early Search Engines – The History of SEO |website=www.thehistoryofseo.com |access-date=2019-01-28 |archive-date=2019-01-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121213229/http://www.thehistoryofseo.com/The-Industry/Short_History_of_Early_Search_Engines.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In August 2004, Terra announced that it was selling Lycos to [[Seoul]], [[South Korea]]–based Daum Communications Corporation, now [[Kakao]], for $95.4 million in cash, less than 2% of Terra's initial multibillion-dollar investment.<ref name=":0" /> In October 2004, the transaction closed and the company name was changed back to Lycos.<ref name=":0" />

Under new ownership, Lycos began to refocus its strategy. The company moved away from being a search-centric portal and toward a community destination for broadband entertainment content.<ref name=":0" /> With a new management team in place, Lycos also began divesting properties that were not core to its new strategy. In July 2006, [[Wired News]], which had been part of Lycos since the purchase of Wired Digital in 1998, was sold<ref name=":0" /> to [[Condé Nast Publications]] and re-merged with ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired Magazine]]''. The Lycos Finance division, best known for [[Quote.com]] and [[RagingBull.com]], was sold<ref name=":0" /> to FT Interactive Data Corporation in February 2006, while its online dating site, [[Matchmaker.com]], was sold<ref name=":0" /> to Date.com. In 2006, Lycos regained ownership of the Lycos trademark from Carnegie Mellon University, allowing the company to rename to Lycos, Inc.<ref name=":0" />

During 2006, Lycos introduced several media services, including Lycos Phone which combined video chat, real-time video on demand, and an MP3 player.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-mar-27-fi-phones27-story.html | title=Lycos, Jajah Launch Internet Phone Call Services Today | agency=[[Associated Press]] | work=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=March 27, 2006}}</ref> In November 2006, Lycos began to roll out applications centered on social media, including its video application, Lycos Cinema, that featured simultaneous watch and chat functionality.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://arstechnica.com/business/2006/11/8209/ | title=Lycos Cinema ties chat to movies; content library, technical details disappoint | first=ANDERS | last=BYLUND | work=[[Ars Technica]] | date=November 13, 2006}}</ref> In February 2007, Lycos MIX was launched, allowing users to pull video clips from [[YouTube]], [[Google Video]], [[Yahoo! Video]] and [[MySpace]] Video. Lycos MIX also allowed users to create playlists where other users could add video comments and chat in real-time.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.cnet.com/uk/news/lycos-mix-fails-to-stir/ | title=Lycos Mix fails to stir | first=Josh | last=Lowensohn | work=[[CNET]] | date=February 8, 2007}}</ref>

As part of a corporate restructuring to focus on mobile, social networks and [[location-based service]]s, Daum sold Lycos for $36 million in August 2010 to Ybrant Digital, an [[Internet marketing]] company based in [[Hyderabad, India]].<ref name="marketwatch1">{{cite news |url= http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ybrant-digital-buys-lycos-for-36-million-2010-08-16?reflink=MW_news_stmp |title=Ybrant Digital Buys Lycos for $36 Million |date=August 16, 2010 |work=BusinessWire |publisher=Comtex News Network, Inc. |access-date=August 16, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release | url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100816005874/en/Ybrant-Digital-Buys-Lycos-36-Million | title=Ybrant Digital Buys Lycos for $36 Million | publisher=[[Business Wire]] | date=August 16, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cnet.com/news/lycos-is-alive-acquired-for-36-million/ | title=Lycos is alive, acquired for $36 million | first=Don | last=Reisinger | work=[[CNET]] | date=August 16, 2010}}</ref> Ybrant Digital paid $20 million at signing and there has been a legal dispute over magnitude of the second installment between Ybrant and Daum. In 2018, a New York court ruled in favor of Daum and appointed Daum (by then merged with [[Kakao]]) as receiver of Ybrant's 56% ownership interest in Lycos.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/1570905/Daum_Global_Holdings_Corp_v_Ybrant_Digital_Limited_et_al|title=Daum Global Holdings Corp. v. Ybrant Digital Limited et al|website=pacermonitor.com|date=May 8, 2018}}</ref>

In May 2012, Lycos announced the appointment of former employee Rob Balazy as CEO of Media division of Lycos.<ref>{{cite news | title=Rob Balazy appointed CEO of Lycos | url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2012/05/07/robert-rob-balazy-appointed-ceo-lycos/znExR2XDhUsRo860ew4IlL/story.html | first=Chris | last=Reidy | work=[[The Boston Globe]] | date=May 7, 2012}}</ref>

In September 2014, Ed Noel was appointed in place of Rob and manages the operations under the title of General Manager of Lycos Media.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://businesswireindia.com/news/news-details/ed-noel-head-lycos-media-division/40889|title=Ed Noel to head Lycos Media Division|website=businesswireindia.com|access-date=2017-10-11}}</ref>

In June 2015, Lycos announced a pair of wearable devices, called Band and Ring.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/6/4/8729279/lycos-smart-band-ring-wearables-announced|title=The web portal Lycos is releasing a smart band and smart ring|last=Kastrenakes|first=Jacob|date=2015-06-04|website=The Verge|access-date=2019-01-28}}</ref>

Lycos Internet was renamed Brightcom Group in May 2018.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/lycos-rechristened-brightcom/article23857164.ece| title = Lycos rechristened Brightcom - The Hindu BusinessLine| date = 11 May 2018}}</ref>

==Lycos Network sites==
* [[Angelfire]], a Lycos property which provides paid web hosting, blogging and web publishing tools
* [[Tripod (web hosting)|Tripod]], a Lycos property providing paid web hosting, blogging and web publishing tools

===Lycos-branded sites===
* Lycos Chat, a photo chatting community.
* Lycos Domains, Internet [[domain name]] purchasing
* Lycos Mail, an e-mail provider formerly known as Mailcity.com. (As of 15 May 2018 providing only paid services.<ref>[http://helpdesk.lycos.com/support/solutions/articles/29000021029-end-of-free-service-faq Lycos "End of free service FAQ" (dated 09 April 2018).]  Accessed 2018-04-12.</ref>)
* Lycos Weather
* Lycos Yellow Pages

===Former Lycos sites===
* Chickmail, a free e-mail service sponsored by [[ChickClick]]
* Chickpages, a free web hosting service sponsored by ChickClick<ref name="fornas et all 2002">{{cite book |first1=Johan | last1=Fornäs | first2=Kajsa | last2=Klein | first3=Martina | last3=Ladendorf | first4=Jenny | last4=Sundén | first5=Malin | last5=Sveningsson |date=2002-11-06 |title=Digital Borderlands: Cultural Studies of Identity and Interactivity on the Internet | contribution=Cyberzines: Irony and Parody as Strategies in a Feminist Sphere | contributor-first=Martina | contributor-last=Ladendorf |url=http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:229162/FULLTEXT01 |location=Switzerland |publisher=[[Peter Lang (publisher)|Peter Lang]] |page=119 |isbn=9780820457406}}</ref>
* Estromail, a free e-mail service sponsored by Estronet
* Estropages, a free web hosting service sponsored by Estronet
* [[Gamesville]], Lycos multi-player gaming site
* GetRelevant.com, a Lycos online advertising site
* Gurlmail, a free e-mail service sponsored by [[Delia's]] for [[Gurl.com]]
* Gurlpages, a free web hosting service sponsored by Delia's for Gurl.com<ref name="fornas et all 2002"/>
* [[Hotbot]], a search engine
* InsiderInfo
* Lycos Radio, allowed users to create and host their own free Internet radio shows
* [[Matchmaker.com]], a dating site
* [[Quote.com]] and [[RagingBull.com]], finance sites
* [[Weather Zombie]], a Lycos property which provided weather forecasts, with a zombie theme, via [[AccuWeather]]
* [[Webmonkey]], web-building help and tutorials
* WhoWhere.com, a people search engine
* [[Wired.com]], the online arm of ''Wired'' magazine

== See also ==
{{Portal|Internet
}}

* [[List of search engines]]
* [[Search engine]]
* [[Comparison of web search engines|Comparison of search engines]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{Official website}}

{{Web search engines}}
{{Daum Kakao}}
{{Dot-com Bubble}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1994 establishments in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:1996 initial public offerings]]
[[Category:2000 mergers and acquisitions]]
[[Category:2004 mergers and acquisitions]]
[[Category:Carnegie Mellon University software]]
[[Category:Companies based in Waltham, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Dot-com bubble]]
[[Category:Online mass media companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Internet properties established in 1994]]
[[Category:Internet search engines]]
[[Category:Technology companies based in the Boston area]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1994]]
[[Category:University spin-offs]]
[[Category:Web portals]]
[[Category:Webmail]]
[[Category:Kakao]]
[[Category:Web 1.0]]