DALLAS: DotComGuy has clicked offline after a year of relying on the Internet
for every necessity.
The cyber-hermit left his Dallas townhouse at 12:01 a.m. CDT (0601 GMT)
Monday, ending an exile during which he never ventured past his small backyard
and bought all he needed on the Internet.
DotComGuy, born Mitch Maddox, began his self-imposed house arrest with the
intention of proving that the Internet could provide all of a person's daily
needs.
When he first locked himself in on January 1, 2000, his townhouse was empty.
Over the next year, with help from corporate sponsors who wanted to persuade
more customers to shop on the Internet, DotComGuy completely furnished the
house, bought all of his necessities and answered e-mails from thousands.
Even though DotComGuy's experience was mostly an experiment in commerce, he
proved his hypothesis that the Internet could provide anything: He met fiancee
Crystalyn Anne Holubeck in one of the chat rooms on his Web site.
But after having his daily existence captured by 20 cameras and broadcast
over the Internet, DotComGuy plans to stay disconnected for a while.
"He said 'Guys, I hope it's okay, but I would like to be away for a few
days,'" DotComGuy Inc. chief executive officer Len Pritcher told CNN.
Pritcher and DotComGuy formed DotComGuy Inc. to handle the business,
marketing and publicity for the experiment. The entity also helped arrange
sponsors - who paid for the year in exile - that wanted DotComGuy to showcase
their Web services.
They included Web travel booking site Travelocity.com, shippers United Parcel
Service Inc, Web services company Interliant Inc., computer manufacturers
Gateway Inc and several others.
How much of a toll the year of self-imposed house arrest took on DotComGuy
was uncertain, but it was clear he was ready to leave.
His final entry in his online diary: "Buh-Bye!"
(C) Reuters Limited 2001.