The Well, the on-line discussion group that pioneered the notion of cyber-communities, is in hot water.
Membership, which peaked at 10,000 two years ago, has slumped to 7,000, and sources say about 400 members a month are bailing out.
Gail Williams, Well executive director, disputed those attrition figures and said the number of conference participants has stabilized at around 7,000.
Meanwhile, The Well’s owner, Rockport shoe millionaire Bruce Katz, is searching for a buyer. But critics say his $2 million-plus asking price is too high.
Founded in 1985 by visionary Stewart Brand, the Sausalito, Calif.-based Well became the favorite on-line hangout of writers and intellectuals at a time when the Internet was peopled mainly by nerds.
In the early 1990s, as the Internet was going mainstream, Katz entered the picture. He bought half, then full ownership of The Well for about $1 million.
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He pumped in more money, hoping to leverage The Well’s reputation to make it a leading Internet service provider as well as a high-brow chat room.
The expansion flopped, largely for want of direction from Katz, who spends several months a year on his sailboat.
The Well sold its ISP business–Whole Earth Networks–early this year, making it mainly dependent on the $10 to $15 a month it charges members to participate in conferences.