Memphis Mojo turns '3.0'

Sometimes it's easy to forget that as recently as 1995, the Internet was nothing more than a twinkle in the collective eye of some hopeful visionaries. Microsoft had yet to reorganize its strategy around the Internet; Netscape went public with the third largest NASDAQ IPO share value in the history of the stock market; Nepal registered its domain name suffix (NP); and Memphis Mojo 1.0 launched in October. Memphis music freight for the world: that was the first slogan of Memphis Mojo. The second one was, "The Insider's Guide to Memphis Music for the Outside," the idea being that Memphis is treated as a precious commodity just about every place BUT Memphis. The Internet would provide a unique opportunity to "Spread the Butter of Memphis Across the World Biscuit" (current slogan).

Memphis Mojo 3.0 was unleashed on the world this May, as site development, braced for Memphis In May (which annually doubles the number of hits on Mojo), accelerated to hyper speed in an effort to deliver good information to the starving masses.

New features of Mojo 3.0 include the Mojo Marquee calendar, with expanded local music listings; the Mojo Minions, a mailing list where members can review shows, spread gossip or be notified of upcoming shows; and a vastly expanded See The City section, with information on more than 250 Memphis establishments (Places to See, Places to Stay, Places to Drink, Places to Hear) organized by geography and price range.

Inside the Mojo Collective local small businesses without a big budget can have a solid Web presence and enjoy all the benefits of a heavily trafficked site. American Dream Safari's "bitchin' site" (as described in the June issue of Mademoiselle) can be found at memphismojo.com/bluesride. Shangri-La Records continues to sell from their mail-order catalog at memphismojo.com/shangri-la. By the end of the summer a Memphis music fan will be able to purchase records on Memphis Mojo from anywhere in the world, thanks to an agreement with Memphis Music Connection. Everything from rarities to the classics to the latest independent release from up and coming locals will be available for credit card purchase on Memphis Mojo.

Memphis Mojo logs anywhere from 3,000 to 7,000 hits a day, making it one of the primary Memphis destinations on the Web; and this is only version 3.0. Imagine the possibilities when it hits 99.