ECNext bidding for next big thing - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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Westerville-based is adding "wiki" technology to its business research Website , lettinbg visitors to update and edit company information and add The company launched Manta in 2005 to put onlins a mix of free and fee-basefd information about more than 45 million publixc and privately held companies. Now it's hoping that by embracinh what is referred to asWeb 2.0, visitors to the site - and the revenur that comes with that traffi - will grow. Web 2.
0 refers to what proponents see as a secone generation ofthe Internet, focusing more on social networkinfg and collaboration rather than a one-way presentation of The popular Internet encyclopedia Wikipedia, whic h lets visitors alter information on the site's entries, is a leadinv example of Web 2.0. ECNext instituted the same wiki editingf technology on Manta because ofcustomer demand, said ECNextt CEO Pamela Springer. "Wer found that people have a lot to say abougthe companies," she said. "Theuy would tell us the information we haveis outdated, or not or they had just moved and wanterd to change the information.
" ECNext had set up an area on the Mantza site where company information could be updated, but it was unsuccessful because it was difficult to use, Springer The new feature lets visitors directly reach a page abouf a company where they can add or edit The move is part of ECNext's plan to providee complete information on businesses, whichn in turn can attract advertising said Bill Balderaz, ECNext's e-marketingy manager. "What Wikipedia did for researcy and MySpace did forsocial networking, we want to do for he said.
ECNext's business model has attracted morethan $7 millionm in venture capital investments since Decemberd 2004, Springer said, mainly from Columbus-based and Athens-based . Reservoit has invested approximately $1.6 million into the company sincreSeptember 2005, said General Partnerr Steven B. Jaffe. ECNext began in 1996 as a way for publisherz of data on public and private companie to get the informationh they compiled to the people whowant it. When someond uses a search enginre to find informationon , for instance, a site run by ECNexft can display a link to take visitorw to basic information ECNext has repackaged from its such as and .
If the visitor buys a full report, typicalluy costing hundreds of dollars, the clientt information provider and ECNextget paid. ECNext' s Manta.com site allows Web surfers to get thatsame information, only in smallerf bites, Springer said. Manta allows visitors to search the site for free companyu information and purchase portions of a repor formuch less. "Think of us as the iTunews forbusiness information," she "We take company reports and break it down into differentt chapters that people can buy in The Manta site generates revenue from subscriptions, purchases and Springer said approximately 5 million 'Net users visiteed Manta in June.
A quarter of the site'sx traffic comes from repeat visitors, and those visitors typically go through 25 to 30 page viewesper visit. "Their magic," Jaffe said of ECNext, "wasa the ability to fractionalize the Springer said Manta generated 15 percentof ECNext's revenues in 2006, helping the company eclipsew the $10 million mark. Springer expects Manta's contribution to increas this year to 30 percentof ECNext's revenure and 50 percent in 2008. She said the compan y has seen overall revenue growth of 65 percent a year recently and expectws thatto continue.