In 1999, the Internet was growing at an astonishing pace, with thousands of new Web companies and e-commerce sites coming to the online market every month. And Ali Ghafouri, an experienced retailer and marketer, understood the trend, but he was convinced that consumers would not adopt the new Internet market without some trepidation. He recognized that productive Web business would be based on:

• Time of adoption
• Internet speed
• Credibility, Clarity, Transparency, Trust

Ghafouri saw that the time of adoption for the consumer depended on the Internet industry working more quickly, thoroughly, and comprehensively to create a truly useful system. The Internet, he determined, urgently needed to provide more robust, focused, and functional Web site access and content that users could rely on in daily life for their main transactions and information.

He also noted that the Internet’s high-speed infrastructure was not in place and that ISPs were still mostly slow dial-ups. As a result, companies could not always offer timely and relevant content and well-designed Web sites that were inherently user-friendly (most sites at the time were limited to mere text content and low-quality images). Dial-ups were full of frustrating failures and too slow for many consumers, and they simply avoided making online transactions.

Ghafouri realized that Web consumers were being bombarded with unwanted information, too. Their emails were regularly flooded with spam and cookies, ad-trackers, worms and viruses, and e-fraud in many guises was on the rise. The Internet was unsafe for many users and mainstream consumers avoided buying online unless through well-a select few established, trustworthy sites.

So Ghafouri decided to combine the traditional credibility of print articles with the promise of Internet content.

This tandem coverage of the Internet through print and online media, he understood, would deliver the best of a magazine’s depth and the Web’s breadth. Consumers could learn about e-companies reviewed and recommended by expert researchers through a magazine and then successfully purchase products and services online.

In 2003, Ghafouri launched NetClearly Magazine, now the only print magazine in the nation covering the Internet. NetClearly Magazine’s editorial provides the most viable and credible sources of Internet information, products and services to the online consumer. And its companion media, www.NetClearly.com, complements the magazine content with additional site reviews and reports on the latest Web trends while also offering members a lively community of likeminded online enthusiasts and consumers.

New for the summer of 2006, Ghafouri will launch the innovative Plutoz.com search engine, too, focused on delivering even more highly filtered, ranked, and qualified content. Plutoz will help eliminate often confusing and overwhelming mega searches and deliver the custom site results online consumers seek.

And in the fall of 2007, Ghafouri will stage the NetClearly Expo in Silicon Valley, California. The NetClearly Expo will be the Internet industry’s first-ever national consumer show, allowing visitors to interact directly with hundreds of innovative Web company leaders, new technologies, and exciting products and services.

Today, the NetClearly/Plutoz media mission helps the Internet industry, e-commerce companies, and Web consumers together enjoy the best of the online world by delivering fresh, valid, custom content in its magazine, Web site, and search engine for everyone’s continued progress and prosperity.