ReadWriteWeb network blog AltSearchEngines announced this week a partnership with Near-Time to establish a new forum. The forum has three levels. One tier is for CEOs and executives of Alternative Search Engines, the second tier is open to all AltSearchEngines readers, and the third tier is for the international advisors who provide AltSearchEngines with their bilingual content.
The goal of the forums is to provide a level of interactivity not available to readers, who in the past could only leave public comments for individual posts.
The Search Engine forum is open to Alt search engines on an invitation only basis. With an introductory price of $49 per year, it will provide several benefits for its members. CEOs can have private conversations or participate in forums relevant to many alternative search engines. The monthly Top 100 Alternative Search Engines list will be posted in this forum prior to being published live on the blog. Special announcements and invitations that are not appropriate for general posting can be shared confidentially within the forum.
In the second forum, open to any reader, members can also participate in private and group forums. Special news such as private beta invites, will be offered to forum members prior to general posting. There is also a Conference Calendar with the most comprehensive display of search and tech related conferences available anywhere, with over 100 conferences world wide currently listed. Another feature is “Ask Charles” where readers can email a question directly to editor Charles Knight and receive a private email response.
The membership fee is $5.99 per month, or $49 per year. There is a 30 day free trial for all forums.
The third foum is for AltSearchEngines’ international advisors who provide the global search engines and bilingual posts for the blog. While this is also by invitation, there is no fee for the international volunteers. In this way, advisors from all over the world can meet and interact in one location. A virtual United Nations of Search!
AltSearchEngines and Near-Time will be rolling out additional features during the year to continuously add value to joining the forums. ReadWriteWeb readers can click here to sign up for the 30 day free trial.