EDS AND ARIBA SIGN B2B DEAL

Information technology consultant EDS and electronic commerce services provider Ariba have teamed to create a business-to-business Internet market group. The joint venture, named EDS CoNext, will create markets that combine the buying power of participating companies, providing them with goods at cheaper prices.

Participants in the first Internet market group include 12 Fortune 500 companies and $160 billion in managed spending under contract annually. Expansion outside the United States is expected to begin in June 2000.

KNOWPOST.COM IS ’STICKIEST’ WEBSITE ON INTERNET

KnowPost.com, the premiere ’Knowledge Community’ launched in April 1999, said that their registered users averaged a total of 307 minutes on the site during December, 1999.

According to Founder Clay Johnson, “The numbers are impressive, but it’s the experience of being on KnowPost.com that’s the real news. KnowPost.com is an organic community – unlike so many of the sites currently being launched – built and operated by the community itself. KnowPosters are smart, involved sophisticated users. Their interests range from tech support to yak butter and they view KnowPost.com as a seamless part of their daily lives.” According to the December data, users average 11 minutes on the site in 27 visits per month.

What is KnowPost.com? Registered users post questions on subjects in a wide array of subjects and receive nearly immediate answers from more than 10,000 KnowPosters from around the world. Answers received are rated by the questioner and KnowPost tracks the cumulative ratings earned by each KnowPoster who answers. The service is currently free, and users earn the right to ask questions by answering them.