Chicago, IL—Thursday,
May 27, 2005—Viral marketing is supposed to spread a company's
message from consumer to consumer. But Web hosting leader Hostway.com claims it has found a well-known Internet company copying its popular
viral promotion, "Bob's Cube," in an apparent case of online
plagiarism.
Hostway said it found striking similarities between its BobsCube.com (launched on April 1, 2005), a lighthearted interactive visit to a typical
office worker's cubicle, and Netscape's "The Cubicle" (launched
on May 27, 2005). Designed by 15letters.com,
Hostway's Bob's Cube has averaged nearly 10,000 visits per day while receiving
"Site of the Day" awards from coolhomepages.com and favouritewebsiteawards.com.
"With the great buzz Hostway has received, its no wonder Netscape
wanted to join the fun," said John Lee, Hostway's vice president
of marketing. "The team at Hostway is extremely flattered that Netscape
chose Bob's Cube to inspire its design of The Cubicle. We're eagerly awaiting
Netscape's thank you letter."
Web site links:
About Hostway Corporation
Hostway Corporation provides domain name registration, Web hosting and ecommerce, colocation, managed dedicated hosting, SaaS hosting, Web design and online marketing services to more than 600,000 customers worldwide. It operates state-of-the art data centers that reduce the complexity and cost of Web-based technologies for small businesses and large enterprises. Founded in 1998, Hostway is one of the three largest Web hosting companies in the world with a direct presence in 11 countries, 15 worldwide operation centers and more than 700 employees. Hostway franchises include: Affinity Internet, Bigstep, DiscountDomains, Hostway UK, Hostway Netherlands, Hostway Korea, Hostway Australia, Hostway Denmark, NetNation, PowerMedium, RegistryPro, Server Service, Service Over Internet, ValueWeb and WinSave. |
