August 11, 2004

Multiply? Subtract 1.

I'm getting a ton of invites from folks seeking me to join their social networks over at the social networking site du jour, namely Multiply.

I've not responded to any invites, primarily because Multiply.com's website doesn't mention who is in the company or even where they're located. As a rule I never fill out detailed registration forms revealing my own identity and the identities of all of my relatives and friends, when the company running the website refuses to offer anything about their own identity.

The only clue I could find about their location is on their Terms of Service page, which mentions jurisdiction is Palm Beach County, Florida.

You know what? A customer should not have to search high and low to find out simple things like this. Of all the kinds of web businesses, SOCIAL NETWORK businesses really owe it to their customers to share some of their information about themselves. I mean, be real -- how is a company going to start being trusted by customers without their knowing a thing about who's behind it?

When will these companies learn? Whatcha hiding, Multiply? Come on out where we can see you. Aren't you proud of your company? Why can't you say who's running the company and what your backgrounds are?

C'mon. Fess up, and then maybe I'll join up.

UPDATE: Here's the WHOIS info:

Registrant:
   Pezaris Design, Inc.
   964 Cypress Drive
   Delray Beach, Florida 33483
   United States

   Registered through: GoDaddy.com
   Domain Name: MULTIPLY.COM
      Created on: 20-Nov-00
      Expires on: 20-Nov-05
      Last Updated on: 08-Mar-04

My theory? It's Peter Pezaris, PerlMonger from DelRay Beach, FL, formerly an executive with SportsLine. Gee, looks like there's a Peter Pezaris who lives at the Pezaris Design, Inc. address mentioned in the Whois record above.

Perhaps he'll speak up and confirm or deny?

UPDATE II: Found more info on Multiply, including:

Posted by brian at August 11, 2004 07:39 PM

Comments

according to this article Peter Pezaris was head of the Fantasy division of sportsline, which does fantasy football, etc.

That would be a pretty short jump to a social software site. Given the functionality and the impressive look of multiply, he must have a sizable and quality staff working on the project. Venture capital?

Posted by: Don at August 14, 2004 08:46 PM

The entire whois record names Peter Pezaris and administrative and technical contact.

Administrative Contact:
Pezaris, Peter domreg@multiply.com
964 Cypress Drive
Delray Beach, Florida 33483
United States
5612660171 Fax --

Technical Contact:
Pezaris, Peter domreg@multiply.com
964 Cypress Drive
Delray Beach, Florida 33483
United States
5612660171 Fax --

Posted by: jhb at August 19, 2004 02:23 PM

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