Tahoe.com offers travel arrangements, e-mail

In 1992, the year Bill Clinton became president and the country was in a recession, a then little-known publication called Wired magazine began to publish stories about how one day nearly every household in America would have a personal computer, and that they could connect via phone lines with a vast network of information that people created.

It was about that time Jeff Ackerman, then publisher of the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza, began to read about what computer-savvy people had dubbed the Information Superhighway.

Ackerman, now publisher of the Nevada Appeal and general manager of Tahoe Carson Area Newspapers, thought that if the Internet took off, it would be the death knell for newspapers.

"It started with a column I wrote back in early 1992," recalls Ackerman. "I suggested newspapers were roadkill on the Information Superhighway."

Someone reminded Ackerman that newspapers are part of the information business. You can't kill information, he was told.

Not long after, Ackerman scribbled on a napkin two words that seemed foreign to him at the time: tahoe.com and reno.com.

"I gave the napkin to a couple of these techheads I know and told them to register those names as domains on the World Wide Web," Ackerman recalls.

Eight years later, tahoe.com and reno.com are getting more than 1.5 million page-views a month, making them the most logged-on Internet sites in Northern Nevada. As new technologies emerge, the future is only going to get better for tahoe.com and reno.com, says Ackerman.

Coming on board one year ago from the McClatchy newspaper company, Paul Keen is TCAN's interactive media director.

Keen, who is credited with launching Fresnobee.com for the McClatchy news organization, said the growth and development opportunities are abundant with both sites, simply because of their names.

"When I came on board, I knew we had two very powerful domains," Keen said. "With that I think it is our responsibility to make them the premier sites in their markets. Tahoe.com has already achieved that distinction. I think we can enhance it, and in particular, we can build a stronger local community for tahoe.com."

With reno.com, TCAN is creating a Web site that will focus on three markets, Keen said.

The first phase is developing a site aimed at visitors to Reno. Second, reno.com will become a strong online community for locals, and third, reno.com will be built into a strong news and information site.

Tahoe.com and reno.com will make it possible for visitors to book virtually everything they want in a visit or a vacation just by clicking onto the Web sites. From travel to lodging, transportation, reservations and golf tee-times - both sites will make it possible for anyone anywhere in the world to plan a visit to Northern Nevada.

One step in the first phase has just been put into place and it holds a powerful and promising future, Keen said.

Called PowerAdz, it allows people to search classified ads and local-business ads for goods and services.

Classified advertising that has been placed with TCAN now also goes on the Web at no extra charge. Next to it, readers can find related business listings.

Tahoe.com has also launched a free e-mail service. Anyone can sign up and have tahoe.com or reno.com as their e-mail address.

Expect to see new additions to both Web sites in the future, including an expanded automobile marketplace that's easy to use and a benefit to car buyers and sellers, Keen said.

Beginning Aug. 1, tahoe.com and reno.com will launch TCAN-Automarket.com. This service will allow people to search for vehicles they have in mind, then view photographs and read descriptions of the vehicles.

"It's unique because a car dealer will be able to display an entire inventory online and have a photograph to go along with it," Keen said. "It gives the dealer a whole new market that he's never reached before, all within a few clicks."

Tahoe.com and reno.com also will launch TCAN-Jobmarket.com, which will allow companies to post job descriptions and company details for job seekers. The site will allow the job seekers to submit resumes, as well as fill out job applications online.

Reno.com, which is currently under construction, will be like no other site in the West, Keen said.

"Our goal for reno.com will be summed up in our slogan: 'There's only one Reno; there's only one reno.com.'"

"I will be looking aggressively for joint ventures and online partnerships that will help us deliver both the content and a variety of online features for users," Keen said.

"We are looking for people who can help us provide the tools for our users - everything from reservations and video-streaming to forums and calendars. We want to make it possible for people to interact all over the reno.com site."

To accommodate the expansion of reno.com and tahoe.com, TCAN recently hired Internet Sales Manager Joshua Todd, who has had more than seven years of e-commerce sales experience.

Todd, who worked in Internet sales for the Statesman Journal in Salem, Ore., said the future of reno.com and tahoe.com is bright.

"The domains make it so much easier for the business person to get their products out where everyone can see them," Todd said. "This is a great way to advertise the area for those who plan to vacation here, or those who plan to settle down and live here. Reno.com and tahoe.com will be interactive to anyone who clicks on."

Tahoe.com is Northern Nevada's and the Lake Tahoe region's No. 1 source for news, largely because of TCAN's newspapers, Ackerman said. With six newspapers serving the region, tahoe.com has something that no other news source can offer - six zones that fully cover the area, updated daily.

"We have 20 reporters, several editors, 8 photographers and 20 sales people out there every day, covering every inch of the region," Ackerman said. "No one can match our coverage."

The Nevada Appeal, the largest of the newspapers within TCAN, serves Carson City and Northern Nevada. Appeal Managing Editor Barry Smith sees the future of news reporting and the Internet as a partnership that will benefit readers.

"We will always be out collecting news and information from Carson City and surrounding areas and delivering the news to our subscribers. With tahoe.com and reno.com, readers will see the evolution of news as it breaks."

Tahoe.com and in the future, reno.com will be the primary sources for electronic news in the region, Smith said.

"We're excited about state government coverage, where we will see to it that legislative bills are available through our sites, for example. The reader will then be able to watch the legislative process and give their input into what they think is important. "

Plans for both sites include news updates as information develops during breaking stories.