Lycos Network Selects Direct Hit to Enhance Search Results

Business Wire, July 8, 1999

WELLESLEY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 8, 1999--

Direct Hit Debuts Today on Lycos.com

Direct Hit Technologies, Inc., provider of the Popularity Engine(TM) technology which delivers the world's most relevant Internet search results, announced today that the Lycos, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCOS), the fastest growing Internet portal and the world's largest online community, has selected Direct Hit to enhance its search results for the millions of consumers using Lycos.com. Direct Hit's Popularity Engine analyzes the search activity of millions of Internet searchers by tracking the sites users click on and the time spent on each site to produce targeted results for any search topic.

"Lycos.com is committed to serving the most relevant search results possible to its consumers, and Direct Hit plays an important role in enhancing the overall search experience," said Rajive Mathur, director of search for Lycos.

The Lycos Network's HotBot also features Direct Hit, which was announced in February 1999. "The Lycos Network's decision to feature Direct Hit is further confirmation of the outstanding quality of our search results," said Mike Cassidy, CEO and co-founder of Direct Hit. "We are delighted to have our results now available to the nearly 30 million users of the Lycos Network."

In addition, Lycos plans to feature Direct Hit's Related Searches in the near future. Related Searches provides search topic suggestions that help users narrow or broaden their search. Direct Hit generates Related Searches by analyzing the search activity of millions of users.

About Lycos

Founded in 1995, Lycos, Inc. is a leading Web media company and owner of the Lycos Network, one of the most visited hubs on the Internet reaching one out of every two Web users. The Lycos Network is a unified set of Web sites that attracts a diverse audience by offering a variety of services, including leading Web navigation resources, homepage building and other Web community services and a comprehensive shopping center. The Lycos Network is composed of premium sites: Lycos.com, Tripod, WhoWhere, Angelfire, MailCity, HotBot, HotWired, Wired News, Webmonkey, Suck.com and MyTime.com. Lycos.com (http://www.lycos.com), "Your Personal Internet Guide," is dedicated to helping each individual user locate, retrieve and manage information tailored to his or her personal interests. Headquartered near Boston in Waltham, Mass., Lycos, Inc. is a global Internet leader with a major presence throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia.

About Direct Hit

Founded in 1998 and privately held, Direct Hit provides highly relevant results for any Internet search. Direct Hit currently has business relationships with HotBot, a service of Wired Digital; ICQ, a division of America Online; LookSmart, the Internet's leading category-based Web directory; ZDNet, the leading Internet news, information and entertainment site; Infoseek Express, the browser-based metasearch engine; and Apple Computer, makers of the innovative search tool Sherlock. Winner of the 1998 MIT $50K Best New Technology Competition, Direct Hit is funded by Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Mosaic Venture Partners. Direct Hit is headquartered in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and can be found on the Internet at www.directhit.com.

(c)1999 Lycos, Inc. -. Lycos(R) is a registered trademark of Carnegie Mellon University. Direct Hit and Popularity Engine are trademarks of Direct Hit Technologies, Inc. All other products or company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.