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Web site foe First, we had MTVs "The Real World." Then, we had the World Wide Web. Finally, as if life were some kind of sick Bud Light commercial, someone said, "Why not have both?" And so my friends, the first Internet soap opera has been born: "The Real World" has met the World Wide Web. Is having the virtual equivalent of "Melmoa Plor>o" rvnJina a annH fl-iintr? CVnito firm. 1V0V A. 1UWV Wil M gjwwu VIXXXlg ^VUW ilvll estly, I can't decide. But like it or not, a "Melrose"-like creation is now on the Net, and ifs proving to be every bit as popular as its television counterpart. Ifs called The Spot, and ifs viewed by people worldwide more than 35,000 times a day. Billing itself as "an episodic Web site," it allows the user to become a voyeur, peering into the lives of five hip and oh-so-beautiful twentysomethings as they live their lives in a glamorous California beach house called The Spot. Yes, you too can read the daily diaries of: Lon, the sexist and woman-chasing actor; Tara, the cute and intellectual director wanna-be; Jeff, an unfriendly, mean guy; Michelle, T X v> A ^ V /\ OA IV v \ itBl 256-66 2 CONVEN u - I^Nofl : IfSI Ar w Te | ADAM'S UNIVERSITY BOOKSTORE I u ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? )ls surfers w a MARC LaFOUNTAII Technobabble a beautiful model who spends most of her fimfl m kilrmia* onrl Povma o oVitr oanai. cijlllc ill uuviiiio, oiiu vaiuc, a onj aim ociior tive girl who just might be a lesbian. To top it all off, you even get to peruse the diary of their dog, the furry and lovable Spotnik. From a design point of view, The Spot is one of the most gorgeous Web sites ever created. All of its pages have custom graphic backgrounds. Full-color pictures and detailed icons abound. You can download sounds and movies of The Spofs inhabitants. If you send e-mail to them, you will receive customized replies. Despite all of this, The Spot hasn't been without its share of detractors. You see, The Spot masquerades as reality, and this angers a lot of people. Nowhere in its pages are you told you are reading fiction. tA /TTT /rli :x::>: n ' 40 wWlif <\v. ;.. -. I 66 IENT LOCATIO T ? I r Offer good to 8/31/9 5 | One coupon per customer Not valid with any other offer I LyUsed iff xtbook UNIVERSITY BOOKSTORE [ADIAM * f/ The Gamecock 1th real life In the site's first days of operation many of the thousands of visitors be lieved that Tara and company wen real people living in a real beach house This prompted articles from the likes of Variety and The Washington Post revealing that The Spot is actually owned by a company and that the peo pie in The Spof s pictures don't even live to gether, much less go by names like Tara anc Lon. It is, in fact, entertainment only. The Spot seems to provoke very differenl reactions in people. It has had the unique dis tinction of making both the Best of the Wei and the Worst of the Web lists. You eithei love it, or you hate it. Naysayers point to the fact that commerria advertising will soon be coming to The Spot (Well, The Spofs owners claim to have spen $250,000 setting it up. It follows that the] will want a little something for themselves. However, the PR agency that handles Th< Spot tells me all advertising will be "nonin trusive." Basically, this means you will b< able to view all of the site's content withou RN T) T" live a " K HPT ' I I? _L JL . -^rpi \TI mJLH ? P s 777-416( ns To Serve Bkoff? ^?w Gam< Sf Clot (Minimum $ 'S UNIVERSITY BOOKSTORE UNI Tuesday, July 11, 1995 melodrama , seeing any of the ads, if that is what you wis! At first, I was somewhat concerned aboi i this new example of naked commercialisi on the Internet. But in the end, I have b< 3 come hooked. I have become a dedicated Spo . watcher, logging on just about every day 1 1 see what has happened in this virtual worl< Considering that I know of at least or " daytime soap opera that features a woma 1 possessed by the devil, I think we should t willing to go a little easy on The Spot. Th site's creators are doing something new an different with the Internet, and I for one a\ ) % ' interested to see where it will lead. p Those interested in visiting The Spot shoul j point their WWW browsers to http://www.the pot.com. To really er\joy The Spot, you mm [ have the Netscape 1.1 browser, f you don T a. T j l. .e. f nave it, 1 recommend you graD it ior iree c ) FTP at ftp.mcom.com. Netscape is aVailab] ; in Macintosh, Windows and Unix format j Marc LaFountain is a journalisi t senior. He can be e-mailed at lafountair marc@sc.edu. OUI * N PR *S N1 325P ? ? W /Mff. SUMI ^ZiPROF | Bi I I ! ] m iiiiiii r r gjjj gjlp i YOU! Dffer good to 8/31/95 le coupon per customer | H| I I valid with any other offer . [H I || -rnrk ! wSfi hing ! gui >25 purchase) I VERSITY BOOKSTORE | (And i ' . ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? j v 7 He's too sexy , 3. 'n '' ia ui BS^^HHHHHHii ,e. 8. KIM TRUETT The Gamecock rc Darius Rucker of Columbia's own Hootio and the ^ n Blowflsh was named one of the top tan sexiest rockj. ers In Playglrl's July Issue which Is on the stands now. The band Is busy touring this summer. 16 OGRESS! ercival Road 782-7854 1,2 & 3 Bedroom Apts. 1 5 miles from campus I Flexible lease terms * Student Specials # wirr 1=T >erties jrrri Ms^^s^ssssssa ~ing in this coupon j for j L FREE MONTH j offer expires 8/21 /95 | \ Wmt FEATURING... ^Vearly^^WINGS, v SEAFOOD, THIS COUPON FOR J) ^ ? m mm m m ? ?/. i SANDWICHES "OFF ; & SALADS tos. any ?? entree i 1928 Broad River Road Expires: jw & Used Major Brands f | itars - Amps - Drums - PA IN I Equipment Other Musical Instruments) \LL at Discount Prices Wffl* ) *BUY *SELL *TRADE ,