Boston CitiNet
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Boston CitiNet
Started in 1983, Boston CitiNet was a local online service developed by Applied Videotex Systems, Inc. of Belmont, MA. The service allowed modem-equipped personal computer users to dial-in and access a range of information and messaging services including chat, forums, email and a range of content. There were several other companies offering paid/subscription services as the time like The Source, CompuServe and Boston-based Delphi. Boston Citinet was unique since it was free to access and was supported by advertising. Messaging services such as email and chat required registration and a monthly fee of $9.95 - an early example of the now popular "freemium" marketing.
Originally launched under the name YellowData ("let your computer to the walking") in 1982, the service was re-named Boston CitiNet in 1983. The software platform for the service was developed by Considine Computing Services (CCS), a DEC system integrator. It initially ran on DEC PDP/11 computers with over 100 dial-up phone lines. The founders of AVS were Thomas Considine and Richard Koch who were joined by John Pollock and Myron Kassaraba.
Some of the early advertisers were several local employment agencies, auto leasing agencies, magazine publishers such as Byte Magazine and a large movie theater chain (Sack Theaters). Online vendors sold cheese, cookies, music disks, VCRs, fax machines (when they came out), and groceries. One of the more popular services was the Daily Horoscope by astrologer Lillian Bono. A partnership made CitiNet the "official online service for the Boston Computer Society (BCS)". Sports was covered by reporters (like today's bloggers) and Richard Koch could be found in the Boston Celtics or Red Sox locker rooms and posting updates from the press box using a Radio Shack TRS-80.
There were several pioneering services developed by AVS or their partners such as:
- SKIDATA - this was a service that provided ski conditions from a data feed supplied by New England Ski Areas Council (NESAC) that we accessible online via modem, using a 24-hour ski conditions line that was powered by DECTalk or at a laser-disk kiosk, developed by Telematic Systems, that was located in the flagship SkiMarket retail store on Commonwealth Ave. in Boston. The service was a smash hit and was featured in Businessweek.
- REALNET - an online real estate service developed through a partnership with Tom Pfau.
- BOCOEX - an online computer marketplace for Alex Randall’s Boston Computer Exchange.
- TRADECARD INTERNATIONAL - Online barter exchange
Other services were experimented with such as online grocery ordering, dating and product sales (ecommerce).
CitiNet also pioneered the practice of “click-stream analysis” to support the advertising business. which is the basis of modern predictive analytics, and also produced some of the very first newspaper “online versions” – Newsday Online, Globe Entertainment, Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Omaha World Herald.
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