![]() Naturally, I thought it was to discuss the advertising arrangement, and I was secretly hoping that Amazon wanted to extend the contract to 24 months. They asked, “Hey!! Have you heard of this book seller in Seattle, ? They want to commit to a 12-month advertising deal with IMDb!” Shortly thereafter, I was invited to meet with Jeff Bezos in London. Once we started selling advertising, I remember receiving a very excited email in 1997 from our ad sales team. We only spend money on things that matter to customers. We bought our first web server on a credit card, then sold our first piece of advertising a couple of weeks later, and paid the credit card balance before the bill came due. ![]() When we incorporated, we took no outside investment money at all. Second, we began as volunteers who were passionate about film-a handful of film fanatics from several countries were creating what would become IMDb as a hobby from 1990 until incorporating in 1996, so we came to Amazon with that ownership mindset. First, because we're built by a vast contributor community of entertainment professionals and companies, IMDb staff, individual contributors and other trusted sources, we are naturally customer-obsessed. There were several key milestones in our evolution that made us a great fit with Amazon. What are some milestones that prepped you for this transition? 17, 1990.įounder of IMDb Col Needham's journal, where he tracks movie viewings and notes.Įight years later, Amazon acquired your company and you stayed on to run it. By 1988 I was in a film discussion group on the public internet, and as interest in my FAQ files of film credits grew, I wrote and published the first version of IMDb on Oct. I used to rewind VHS tapes, press pause, type in the main credits, and that was that. Within two weeks of starting my written diary, I had created an expanded database on my home computer. I wanted to remember much more about a film than just the title. So I got myself a notebook in 1981-a classic film geek solution-and began to write down the movies I saw on each day. In the early '80s I was seeing so many movies on VHS tape that I started to lose track of what I'd seen. I got my first home computer when I was 12. I've been fortunate that I was the right age for two important revolutions: home computing and home video. My earliest memory is going to see Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs when I was 5, and from that point on, all I wanted to do was see more and more films. ![]() I've been in love with movies for my entire life. May we have the IMDb origin story, please? As the global pandemic caused businesses to shift gears back in March, we checked in with IMDb's originator and first user to hear about his journey with Amazon, his enduring passion for film, and how he and the IMDb team keep innovating on behalf of customers. "Because of their similar passion for books, the team understands and fully supports IMDb's mission of providing the best possible information to movie lovers," Col said in the 1998 press release. Col Needham, who founded the site in 1990 as an extension of a personal project, was excited to join forces. In 1998, IMDb was among Amazon's first acquisitions. ![]()
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