Aardvark off endangered list

By RICHARD WOOD

Internet provider ihug has stepped in to save "new economy" news and commentary website Aardvark.co.nz from extinction.

Aardvark, which has been running since 1995, said last week that it had given up sniffing around for money. The site claims 5000 regular readers and 80,000 hits to its front page each month.

Owner Bruce Simpson said he could no longer afford to run it at a loss. This prompted disappointed readers to suggest a range of solutions from subscriptions to site changes.

Simpson said attempts to secure funding had failed and donations from enthusiastic readers this year were insufficient.

Ihug director Tim Wood would not disclose the amount of the sponsorship deal but said it was for a year.

Simpson had previously said he needed $30,000 annually.

He said other companies had offered to host the site as payment and another unnamed sponsor came to light on Friday but the deal with ihug had already been struck.

Ihug gets a logo on the top of the page, a sales button somewhere on the page, and will maintain a link from its site to Aardvark.

Simpson said he had no intention of carrying any other advertising on the site and ihug's sponsorship would not affect his combative independence.

"They are aware of that. They're pretty brave."

Simpson considered moving Aardvark to a subscription model at $50 a reader annually but said he could not bring himself to accept the narrowing of readership this would cause.

Also, only 100 readers had indicated they would subscribe.

Another issue for Simpson was that he did not want to contribute to the general trend of charging for information on the net.

"I personally wouldn't like to see the subscriber model take off because once it reaches critical mass you won't be able to get anything for free on the net. That will be a sad day."

Simpson is also trying to advance his X-Jet prototype derived from the pulse jet engines that powered the V1 flying bombs, used by Germany in World War II.