Dotcomguy
Encyclopedia
DotComGuy was the name of a former computing systems manager who legally changed his name to DotComGuy from Mitch Maddox in 2000. His project was to live for one year (beginning on January 1, 2000) without leaving his house in Dallas, Texas
, ordering all food and necessities off the Internet
and having them delivered. The house was monitored 24/7
and several video feeds were streamed online.
The project had a large number of sponsors including United Parcel Service
, 3Com
, Network Solutions
, Piper Jaffray
, Travelocity
and Peapod
.
Despite initially attracting a lot of media attention, public interest in the project gradually faded away. In early 2001, a web site run by "Pud" Kaplan claimed that due to the end of the dotcom bubble in mid-2000, Mitch did not get the roughly $100,000 cash bonus he had been promised by some investors for successfully living "online" for the entire year. It was later claimed that this was a mutual agreement, that had been required to pay for keeping the project online for the entire year.
In the end of the project, DotComGuy legally changed his name back to Mitch Maddox and auctioned off the domain name DotComGuy.com. As of 2007, the domain name was no longer in use by Kaplan.
Every year on December 30 DotComGuy joins in a day long irc chat session.
Maddox now works in Dallas, Texas
for Riverstone Residential Group as the Director of Systems Integration.
The domain, dotcomguy.com, is now in use by one of the investors for a new IT services business.
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, ordering all food and necessities off the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
and having them delivered. The house was monitored 24/7
24/7
24/7 is an abbreviation which stands for "24 hours a day, 7 days a week", usually referring to a business or service available at all times without interruption...
and several video feeds were streamed online.
The project had a large number of sponsors including United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service, Inc. , typically referred to by the acronym UPS, is a package delivery company. Headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States, UPS delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the...
, 3Com
3Com
3Com was a pioneering digital electronics manufacturer best known for its computer network infrastructure products. The company was co-founded in 1979 by Robert Metcalfe, Howard Charney, Bruce Borden, and Greg Shaw...
, Network Solutions
Network Solutions
Network Solutions, LLC is a technology company founded in 1979. The domain name registration business has become the most important division of the company. As of January 2009, Network Solutions managed more than 6.6 million domain names.-History:...
, Piper Jaffray
Piper Jaffray
Piper Jaffray & Co. , often shortened to just Piper Jaffray or PiperJaffray, is a U.S. middle-market investment banking firm based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and sells financial advice, investment products, and transaction execution within targeted sectors of the financial services marketplace...
, Travelocity
Travelocity
Travelocity is an online travel agency and wholly owned subsidiary of Sabre Holdings Corporation, which was a publicly traded company until taken private by Silver Lake Partners and Texas Pacific Group in March 2007...
and Peapod
Peapod
Peapod, LLC is an online grocery delivery service owned by Royal Ahold and operating only in a select number of US cities. The company is based in Skokie, Illinois."." Peapod. Retrieved on February 15, 2011. "Corporate Headquarters 9933 Woods Drive, Skokie, IL 60077 ."-History:Peapod was founded in...
.
Despite initially attracting a lot of media attention, public interest in the project gradually faded away. In early 2001, a web site run by "Pud" Kaplan claimed that due to the end of the dotcom bubble in mid-2000, Mitch did not get the roughly $100,000 cash bonus he had been promised by some investors for successfully living "online" for the entire year. It was later claimed that this was a mutual agreement, that had been required to pay for keeping the project online for the entire year.
In the end of the project, DotComGuy legally changed his name back to Mitch Maddox and auctioned off the domain name DotComGuy.com. As of 2007, the domain name was no longer in use by Kaplan.
Every year on December 30 DotComGuy joins in a day long irc chat session.
Maddox now works in Dallas, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
for Riverstone Residential Group as the Director of Systems Integration.
The domain, dotcomguy.com, is now in use by one of the investors for a new IT services business.
External links
- DotComGuy Fan Page
- DotComGuy Franchise the follow on business from one of the investors.