According to comScore, health information Web sites had more than 69 million unique visitors in July, up 21 percent from a year ago. In total, there's been a 5 percent increase over the past year. With a 182 percent increase, Revolution Health Network has had the most dramatic year-over-year growth. In July, Revolution Health Network had 11.3 million unique visitors.
By 2010, Wal-Mart will have more than 400 convenient care clinics in its retail stores. Wal-Mart is partnering with RediClinic and another operator to co-brand these clinics which will provide basic services such as health screenings and routine ailments for about $60. Patients won't have to make appointments to see the physician's assistant or nurse practitioner. With this expansion plan, these convenient care clinics may become a common sight.
Modern Healthcare's readers have ranked Steve Case, co-founder of America Online and founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Revolution Health Group as the most powerful person in healthcare. More than 500,000 votes were cast in this year's poll.
CarePages.com, owned by Revolution Health, is now available through Cancer Care Services’ Web site. CarePages.com provides emotional support for cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, and their families and friends to keep connected.
Athenahealth will be providing supply medical billing software and services to RediClinic, which will be opening more than 200 new clinics in Wal-Mart stores by 2010. RediClinics are walk-in facilities that provide convenience, weekend hours, short waiting times to see a nurse or doctor and clear pricing for medical treatments or vaccinations.
Patients are increasingly turning to online health sites such as RevolutionHealth.com to talk with each other on their own symptoms to advice on taking care of someone with an illness. These online health sites are offering more than just opportunities to talk with each other but also blogs, forums, and social networking opportunities.
Increasingly, doctors are no longer accepting insurance due to the difficulty of getting reimbursed. On Revolution Health’s “Dr Val and the Voice of Reason” tells the story of one doctor who has streamlined his practice so efficiently, that he charges only $300 a year.
To improve the number of patients willing to participate in clinical trials for media research, a number of programs are being developed. While some are starting their own Web sites, others work with organizations such as EmergingMed. In a partnership that will be announced on Wednesday, EmergingMed and RevolutionHealth allows members to create a personal profile and see if they are a match for one of the thousands of trials posted. While free for individuals, EmergingMed charges medical centers, advocacy groups, and research sponsors. Unlike other free services, EmergingMed allows people to put in disease stage and prior treatments. They also offer consultants who can call patients who have registered when new trials come up.
While Revolution Health Group launched its flagship site RevoutionHealth.com in 2007, the site has quickly become the 4th most visited health site on the Internet. In this Q&A session with Revolution Health Group founder and CEO Steve Case, he discusses what makes his company different and what’s in store for the future.
Through a strategic partnership with Wal-Mart, RediClinics are providing basic medical needs at an inexpensive price for those who want quick access to a medial professional. Last year, Wal-Mart announced they’d add more than 400 walk-in convenient care clients by 2010 – and currently has more than 200 co-branded clinics in their stores.
Created in 2000, CarePages is a unique social network for family members with loved ones undergoing long-term hospital stays. The service, usually provided by hospitals for free, allows families to give mass updates their hospitalized loved one and an outlet to receive well wishes from friends and family.
RevolutionHealth.com announced in February that it was the number one online health website with 256 million page views in January, according to ComScore. That month the site had more visitors than WebMd, Everyday Health, and AOL Body. The January numbers show the tremendous momentum the site has received since it launched in 2007 and proves that it has become a preferred outlet for relevant and trustworthy health information.
Wal-Mart has announced plans to co-brand more than 200 walk-in clinics in its stores with RediClinics, one of Revolution Heath’s companies. Walk-in clinics are a rapidly growing industry with 1,500 to 1,800 clinics expected to open in 2008. More than 55% of the Wal-Mart/RediClinic customers don’t have health insurance and most pay for their medical visit with cash. The benefits most customers cite as why they like walk-in clinics are the convenience, weekend hours, short waiting times to see a nurse or doctor and clear pricing for medical treatments or vaccinations.
In her monthly column, Jill Zarin from Bravo's Real Housewives of NYC said that she and her husband Bobby are members of Exclusive Resorts (ER). The couple recently took an ER Seabourne cruise with 200 other members with ER providing first-class services from food to accommodations. According to Zarin, "I cannot say enough good things about them [Exclusive Resorts] and the people who work there."
With more than 3,000 members, Exclusive Resorts offers them access to 350 properties in 11 countries with a total value of $1 billion. As part of their new Once in a Lifetime program, members can use their allotted days towards 15 guided experiences in 25 countries, such as a trip to the Galápagos Islands. While ER doesn't own the ship nor employ the naturalist guides, they do vouch for the quality of these vendors. In addition, members receive top-notch service and accommodations throughout their trip.
Exclusive Resorts has been in business for only five years, but it's already the world's largest destination club with more than 3,000 members. The company has expanded its offerings – including adding more than 75 new residences in 2007 alone. Members have access to more than 350 homes in 35 locations. In addition, ER offers Once in a Lifetime Experiences where members can take escorted trips to far-flung destinations such as Bhutan and the Galápagos Islands.
By paying an initiation fee and annual dues, members of destination clubs can enjoy beaches, mountains, and other locations around the world in luxury settings. As part of the fastest growing segment of the travel industry, destination clubs, such as Exclusive Resorts, are tremendously popular with the baby boomer population. When Exclusive Resorts started in 2002, it had just a 100 members. Fast forward six years and Exclusive Resorts now has more than 3,000 members and a waiting list.
Located in northwest Costa Rica, the Guanacaste Province is undergoing a transformation as a high-end luxury destination. One of the new developments is Revolution Places’ Cacique resort that will be a responsible steward of the environment, putting into place a number of green measures to minimize the resorts’ environmental impact. Cacique will include the first Miraval spa resort outside the US, a One & Only hotel from Atlantis founder Sol Kerzner, an Andre Agassi/Steffi Graf tennis center, and a discovery center featuring Philippe Cousteau.
While guests of Miravel have access to a wide array of luxurious, gourmet, and healthy eating choices, Executive Chef Mary Nearn also reminds patrons that eating healthy can taste great too. Nearn provides guests with 12 sample menus along with healthy eating concepts such as reduced portion sizes and slowing down when eating to truly savor each bite.
List as an “Icon & Innovator,” six year old Exclusive Resorts has ascended to become a leader in the destination club industry. With more than 350 homes in 40 locations throughout North America, the Caribbean and Europe, Exclusive Resorts offers their members the comforts of home combined with the feel and services of a luxury resort. Whether a member wants a casual, community-oriented experience or assistance with planning a surprise party to celebrate major life milestones, they can be assured the Exclusive Resorts’ concierge service is there to help them make their stay the best.
According to an analyst at Brookings Institute, car-sharing is not just a trend but a way of the future. With businesses such as architectural firm HOK increasingly joining Zipcar, employees are able to quickly and easily "zip" to meetings in cars. Plus, HOK employees can test out Minis, hybrids, and other models. Besides saving the environment, HOK is saving money on reimbursing employees for gas and parking.
While it may have been tough at times, most people who went on the "car diet" found they saved money, enjoyed the convenience and simplicity of being car-free, and felt like they were doing something good for their community. In exchange for handing over car keys for 30 days, participants were given a free month's bus pass, Zipcar membership, and $500 in drive-time credits.
With record-breaking gas prices, many families are looking to trim costs by getting rid of a car. Zipcar, the world’s largest car-sharing company, has signed up more than 300 participants in 10 cities to go on a “Low-Car Diet.” By living without their car for one month, Zipcar is hoping people will reduce their dependency on cars and reduce their environmental impact.
Before gas prices went to $4 a gallon, Zipcar was a popular option for urbanites who didn’t buy a car but wanted the convenience to rent one by the hour or the day. Now, Zipcar has signed on more than 10,000 new members a month – many from the suburbs. Unlike private car ownership, Zipcar users pay a per hour or day charge which includes gas, insurance, and parking. With locations in 50 cities, Zipcar has 225,000 members and cars parked within a 10-minute walk of 13 million Americans.
Marie Claire listed Zipcar as the “Sexist Brand” in their August 2008 issue. This is their “definitive ‘It’ list of the celebs, splurges, trends, and places that will leave you begging for more.”
Where offers a widget that tells Zipcar users the location of the closest Zipcar. Where widgets operate on Nokia, BlackBerry, iPhone, and iPod Touch and through most major carriers.
Before the high gas prices, Americans had a love affair with their cars. But now, Americans are thinking twice now about how often they really use a car and whether they need to replace their old one. With the increasing popularity of car-sharing services like Zipcar, it appears drivers are starting to not think of cars as part of their personality, but as an interchangeable object.
17 Pittsburgh residents joined Zipcar’s “Low-Car Diet” challenge yesterday. In exchange for their car keys for the next 30 days, these residents received a year’s membership to Zipcar, free bus passes, and $500 worth of Zipcar driving credits valid for the next four weeks. Other perks offered included free shoe shines, case of vitamin water, and a week’s membership to a health club. Many cited rising gas prices as a major factor in their decision to participate. Zipcar’s “low-car diet” challenge was being promoted in 12 cities across the country.
To address the concerns over limited parking at ASU’s downtown Phoenix campus, the university is partnering with Zipcar to provide a Yaris to those who are 18 and older who can’t or don’t want to bring a car to school.
Beginning in September, Zipcar will be available on Vanderbilt and Belmont Universities. In addition, the Downtown Partnership is hoping to have three Zipcars available for users around the same time. It’s estimated that these three Zipcars will remove 15 personal vehicles off the streets. While the models haven’t been determined for Belmont or downtown, Vanderbilt will have Honda Civics, Ford Escapes, and a Volvo S40.
While car sharing clubs are still new to Britain, they’re catching on fast. Zipcar says they’ve seen a 25 percent increase on month-to-month memberships and estimate people are saving 80-90 percent by signing up. Britons are saving money, stress of owning a car, and helping the environment.
The soaring gas prices have also increased the number of car-sharing customers. In some cities, there are nonprofit organizations and Zipcar, the for-profit company that saves customers not only gas money, but also insurance and repair costs. According to Scott Griffith, Zipcar’s CEO and Chairman,“ 40 percent of the people that join either don't buy a car or they sell a car because of Zipcar. So, for every car we put on, that translates into 15 personal cars going away.”
According to Zipcar’s research, more than 30 percent of its members have either sold their own vehicle or held off on buying one after becoming a member. The eight year old company now boasts more than 200,000 members in 50 markets in the United States, Europe and Canada. That's up from 50,000 members in 10 markets in May 2006. With the rising cost of gas, Zipcar has continued to be popular in urban areas and has posted over 100 percent growth annually.
With high gas prices, are car-sharing services such as Zipcar the “Next Big Thing” to help beat traffic and save money? CNN thinks so. By renting cars by the hour or the day, Zipcar users appreciate the cost-savings and ease-of-use. Users can rent the cars on college campuses and in urban parking lots in more than 50 cities around the country.
By allowing drivers to rent cars by the hour when they when they need it, Zipcar’s car sharing model has changed the way people drive. After combining Zipcar and Flexcar, the two companies have 180,000 members, who pay at least $50 a year to access cars in 50 cities in the U.S. and the U.K., and is expected to hit $100 million in revenue this year. Up next are an IPO, 2 million customers and $1 billion in annual revenue.
Mashable and Social Times have reported that Buzznet has bought Qloud, the DC-based social music company backed by Revolution LLC. Qloud developed the My Music application for Facebook and quickly became one of the most popular applications.
Two months after the announcement Zipcar would be merging with Flexcar, Zipcar’s CEO Scott Griffith answered candidly about why the merger made sense and what’s next for the car sharing provider.
Larry Summers is involved with Revolution Money, which according to him, "has a potentially very exciting credit-card technology, using credit and debit technology, using the internet that, in a sense, brings together bricks and clicks by providing both a capacity for regular retail transactions and also for online." Revolution Money is available for use with more than one million places.
Started in the mid-1990s as an online news source, Salon.com has developed a new program with Revolution Money called Tippem. This will allow readers to click and pay writers through Revolution Money’s free micro-payment system.
AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) users can now pay or pay back their friends through Revolution Money’s plug-in. By using AIM, MoneyExhange members can easily send money to other account members for free.
Drivers are looking for any relief at the pump and some gas stations and credit cards are offering rebates, discounts, and other money-saving options. Revolution Money’s RevolutionCard, a PIN-based credit card, offers gas buyers a 10-cent-a-gallon discount when used at Tom’s Stores in Pennsylvania. RevolutionCard is accepted by more than 150,000 retailers, including 1,000 gas stations.
Unlike the traditional credit card companies, Revolution Money is part online-payment platform, part credit-card company with a Web-linked physical card with lower fees. While merchants usually have to pay fees to the traditional credit card clearing networks, Revolution Money has its own Internet-based payment processing system which means merchants pay less – and can pass the savings on to the customers. The second part of the business is MoneyExchange, a secure online payment system that allows customers to instantly transfer money online for free through applications such as Facebook and AOL instant messenger.
What makes RevolutionCards unique in a market already crowded with issuers, networks, and card products is the company’s plans to link its RevolutionCards with its free, person-to-person money transfer system, Revolution MoneyExchange, which allows people to send one another money through AOL LLC's Instant Messenger program. Revolution Money’s president and CEO Jason Hoggs calls the capability “Paypal meets MasterCard.&rdquo Another unique feature is the fact the card does not have the users’ names or account numbers and cardholders authorize purchase using a PIN. While 200,000 merchants currently accept RevolutionCard, by the end of the year, they expect 1 million and 2 million by mid-2009.
Shipley Energy is the first energy company to offer a co-branded RevolutionCard, a PIN-based credit card that uses technology enhancements to provide merchants with no interchange fees and a transaction processing fee of only 0.50%. Since there’s a reduction of fees, merchants such as Shipley can pass on savings to RevolutionCard holders in the form of promotional offers and incentives such as discounts on gasoline prices, referrals, and home heating oil or propane purchases.
Online merchants are offering new forms of payment to make it easier for customers to shop online. Revolution Money’s RevolutionCard has more than 150,000 national merchants that accept the card and is quickly becoming a favorite with merchants who value its processing fees of 0.5 percent compared to the 2 to 4 percent charged by the legacy credit card companies. Revolution MoneyExchange is developing widgets that allow users to pay or exchange money on Facebook, Ning, IM platforms, Craigslist and other web sites for one off purchases or swapping money with a friend who owes you.
Revolution Money has launched MoneyExchange, a Facebook application that allows users to exchange money person-to-person within the popular social network. Money can be transferred quickly between accountholders through social networking sites for free.
With the increasing popularity of social networking, marketers are working to capture consumers' attention by sponsoring content or creating their own branded micro-sites within networks. This partnership between SplashCast and Clearspring will help make this easier by combining SplashCast content with Clearspring's distribution of the content and ads across social platforms.
In an interview with Hooman Radfar, owner of Clearspring Technologies, he talks about his widget company that’s backed by Ted Leonsis and Steve Case. Radfar has been placed on BusinessWeek’s list of Tech’s Best Young Entrepreneurs and a nomination for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year. And he’s only 28.
While the economy hasn’t been great, Washington has some companies with a lot of potential. Listed as a hot company to watch, Clearspring Technologies creates widgets so you can easily upload the information you care about on your personal home page or blog for free. Your friends can also easily add the widgets you include on their blogs or social networking sites. Clearspring makes money by selling advertising and has a list of clients that include Snickers and Honda.
Clearspring Technologies Inc. announced on Wednesday, May 21, that they raised an $18 million Series C round, which the company will use to continue developing its technology for syndicating and tracking "widgets," an increasingly popular online advertising tool. Started four years ago, Clearspring is the largest syndicator and tracker of widgets, distributing almost 4 billion widgets monthly. Through some early revenue models, such as strategic alliances, Clearspring has partnerships with consumer brands such as Aquafina, Honda, and Snapple; entertainment companies including Blockbuster Inc. of Dallas and Walt Disney Co. of Burbank, Calif.; advertising agencies including Digitas Inc. of Boston, JWT of New York and Mediacom Communications Corp. of Middletown, N.Y.; and media companies including ESPN Inc. of Bristol, Conn., National Geographic Society of Washington and NBC Universal Inc.
In the third round of venture financing, Clearspring Technologies Inc announced it closed $18 million. With this additional funding, Clearspring will expand its marketing network and expand into international markets. As distributors and trackers of widgets mini-applications that make Web content portable, Clearspring's advertising and technology platforms allow Web publishers, widget developers and advertisers distribute, track and monetize content turned into widgets to more than 80 sites and social networks, including Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, Blogger, iGoogle, and Windows Vista. The company's customers include Aquafina, Honda, Snapple, Sprint, Disney, the NBA, Linkin Park, Madonna, Radiohead and U2.
