Clarification of Web Traffic Numbers

Theglobe.com wishes to clarify Joseph Menn’s article “Web Firms May Vastly Inflate Claims of ‘Hits’ ” [April 17], which, however unintentional, was misleading to readers.

The article stated that DoubleClick did not agree to have its audience estimates be included in Theglobe.com’s SEC filing. But Theglobe.com received documentation from DoubleClick in a letter dated April 8, 1999, granting Theglobe.com permission to use the name of its ad serving solution, DART, in Theglobe.com’s SEC filings.

While DoubleClick offers many services, Theglobe.com retains DoubleClick only for its DART ad serving technology. It is a technology that delivers advertisements on Web pages, while supplying a plethora of different analysis reports, including a count of individual unique user traffic.

By placing cookies on each unique computer and browser that accepts cookies, DoubleClick counts each of those unique computers and browsers as a “unique user.” The only purpose of including DoubleClick or DART in the company’s filing was to authenticate its user count by a reputable third party.

Theglobe.com also received written authorization from DoubleClick verifying that for the month of March 1999 approximately 10.2 million users visited Theglobe.com’s site, dated April 8, 1999.

In a letter dated June 11, 1999, DoubleClick Chief Financial Officer Stephen Collins informed Theglobe.com that because of an isolated DoubleClick error, the “30 Day Reach” report for Theglobe.com of March 1999 was not accurate. Theglobe.com then acted quickly and responsibly by issuing a press release (on June 15, 1999) to inform the public that DoubleClick’s method of reporting unique visitors to Theglobe.com was not accurate for the month of March 1999.

Theglobe.com did not distort any traffic numbers but acted upon verified information supplied by an accredited third party, necessary for an SEC filing.

WILL MARGILOFF

Director of sales

Theglobe.com

San Francisco