Fathom.com
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Type of site
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Online learning |
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| Owner | Columbia University |
| Slogan(s) | "The source for online learning" |
| Website | fathom |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Launched | November 15, 2000 |
| Current status | Closed March 31, 2003; currently offline |
Fathom was an online learning portal project, spearheaded by Columbia University, that opened to the public in late 2000. Partners in the venture included the London School of Economics and Political Science, the British Library, the New York Public Library, Cambridge University Press, and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. Failing to turn a profit despite a 2002 business plan change, Fathom closed in early 2003.
In the late 1990s, Columbia University, led by executive vice provost Michael M. Crow, sought a way to use the emerging World Wide Web as a strategic tool for extending higher education's reach to the public. The university hired Ann Kirschner in late 1998 to help develop this plan. Over a one-year period starting in January 1999, Crow and Kirschner quickly drew up the blueprint for Fathom, hoping to gain a first-mover advantage over potential competitors.
On April 11, 2000, The Fathom Network Inc. incorporated in Delaware, changing its name to Fathom Knowledge Network Inc. shortly afterward. On November 15, 2000, Fathom opened to the public as a "preview site".
Crow and Kirschner conceived Fathom.com as an online learning community for general audiences who desired the experience of "'[...] being at a great university or a great museum'" without having to attend one in person. Concerned by the initial success of Microsoft's Encarta encyclopedia, they also saw Fathom as a proactive defense against losing valuable faculty members to other online education projects.
As an Internet hub of educational resources and interactive learning activities, Fathom aimed to distinguish itself from other university-led online learning initiatives. Their plan called for a) a broad range of multimedia educational content designed specifically for the website, not limited to course syllabi and resources (hence the partnership with archival institutions); and b) interactive features such as forums, collaborative learning tools and groups, and expert-led discussions. In these ways, Fathom's ambitions reached beyond the course-confined materials and limited interaction of more familiar online learning initiatives by universities, like MIT's OpenCourseWare.
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