Launched in 1995 by Carey Earle, Tom Livaccari and
Dan Pelson,
Word Magazine created original stories, interviews, games, applications, music, interactive objects and art, and community spaces. Word published new content daily, and each story was treated as a unique interface design experiment. Word was also a pioneer in the use of online advertising and was the first website to integrate
microsites into brand advertising online. It was also one of the first truly web-oriented online magazines.
Word's editorial team was originally led by
Vibe magazine founding editor Jonathan Van Meter and creative director
Jaime Levy. Marisa Bowe took over as editor-in-chief prior to the site's June 1995 launch and
Yoshi Sodeoka became creative director in early 1996.
Daron Murphy was a founding senior editor. From 1998, Word featured a
chatterbot named
Fred the Webmate.
Word published comics every Tuesday ("Toozeday Komix") by the likes of such alternative cartoonists as
Ben Katchor,
Tony Millionaire,
Kaz,
Michael Kupperman,
Dame Darcy,
Mike Diana,
Sam Henderson,
Lauren Weinstein,
Joe Sacco, and
Harvey Pekar. In 2000, Streeter, Bowe,
Murphy, Rose Kernochan, and
John Bowe co-edited a book of interviews,
Gig: Americans Talk About Their Jobs, inspired by
Studs Terkel's
Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do.
Word won awards from
I.D. Magazine and
Print Magazine, among others, and was placed in the permanent collection of the
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the
Walker Art Center and the
Museum of the Moving Image.
Word was originally owned by Icon CMT until its sale in April 1998 to
Zapata Corporation. Zapata closed Word.com in August, 2000. ==References==