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ASPEN — Aspen.com is back.
For nearly eight years, arguably the most coveted website address with an Aspen connection had been dormant. Enter aspen.com on the computer, and the user would get a message saying no such site exists.
But not anymore. Some time in the last week, aspen.com began functioning again, offering links to skiing, shopping, dining and more.
Even so, there appears to be work to do. The images of the website, which change periodically, include powder shots and the like.
But they also are comprised of such photos as a woman in a bathing suit gazing at a beach. Under the section for Aspen real estate, a photo of a stucco mansion with a palm trees out front can be seen.
Still, the return of aspen.com apparently signals that its owners, Morris Communications of August, Ga., are attempting to resurrect it. A phone call and e-mail to Morris, which operates newspapers and radio stations, and the site administrator were not returned Friday.
“There’s obvious movement with it,” said Tahnee Perry, the director of marketing and technology for Stay Aspen Snowmass, an Aspen-based central reservations firm. “It will be interesting to see what happens in the future.”
That the site is back and running was news to Ed Bastian, who launched aspen.com back in the 1990s. Aspen.com once operated out of the Red Brick school house — now the Red Brick Center for the Arts — and eventually moved to the office space next to City Market.
Bastian, who now lives in Santa Barbara, Calif., sold the domain to Morris for an undisclosed sum in 1999. That led Aspen journalist Curtis Robinson to take over the editorial side of the site, which even had a so-called street sheet accompany it.
When Morris unloaded its valley papers to Nevada-based Swift Newspapers (now called Swift Communications and the parent company of The Aspen Times), in 2000, it held onto aspen.com but shut it down as well.
Bastian said Friday that he thinks Morris failed to take advantage of a good opportunity by allowing residents of Aspen to run the site.
Robinson agreed.
“I always thought aspen.com was just a great brand,” he said.
Perry noted that all of the ads for aspen.com are driven by Google links to such sites as hyattaspen.com and aspenclub.com. As of Friday, there were no display advertisements on aspen.com.
“They are all Google ads,” she said. “That’s where they’re getting their revenue from.”
For years, tourism officials have expressed curiosity about the site and its untapped potential. But Perry said many Internet users these days just type the word “Aspen” into a search engine such as Yahoo or Google, instead of typing in the URL.
The first site to appear by typing in “Aspen” on Google on Friday showed aspensnowmass.com, the site for Aspen Skiing Co. The same day, aspen.com was the 10th entry to appear on such a search.
There, the user was greeted with this intro: “If you have never been to Aspen you are in for a treat. The City has a warm and inviting personality that makes it an ideal Tourist stop. Downtown caters to higher end designer shops, restaurants and plush accommodations. The area surrounding Aspen features the second homes of many of the affluent from around the world. Aspen holds tight onto its position as one of the best ski resorts in the world so be sure to bring your skis.
“If you are looking for a relaxing vacation and you want to experience some of the finest dining, accommodations and shopping in the world as well as spend a few days testing your endurance on the slopes — Visit Aspen Colorado.”
rcarroll@aspentimes.com
For nearly eight years, arguably the most coveted website address with an Aspen connection had been dormant. Enter aspen.com on the computer, and the user would get a message saying no such site exists.
But not anymore. Some time in the last week, aspen.com began functioning again, offering links to skiing, shopping, dining and more.
Even so, there appears to be work to do. The images of the website, which change periodically, include powder shots and the like.
But they also are comprised of such photos as a woman in a bathing suit gazing at a beach. Under the section for Aspen real estate, a photo of a stucco mansion with a palm trees out front can be seen.
Still, the return of aspen.com apparently signals that its owners, Morris Communications of August, Ga., are attempting to resurrect it. A phone call and e-mail to Morris, which operates newspapers and radio stations, and the site administrator were not returned Friday.
“There’s obvious movement with it,” said Tahnee Perry, the director of marketing and technology for Stay Aspen Snowmass, an Aspen-based central reservations firm. “It will be interesting to see what happens in the future.”
That the site is back and running was news to Ed Bastian, who launched aspen.com back in the 1990s. Aspen.com once operated out of the Red Brick school house — now the Red Brick Center for the Arts — and eventually moved to the office space next to City Market.
Bastian, who now lives in Santa Barbara, Calif., sold the domain to Morris for an undisclosed sum in 1999. That led Aspen journalist Curtis Robinson to take over the editorial side of the site, which even had a so-called street sheet accompany it.
When Morris unloaded its valley papers to Nevada-based Swift Newspapers (now called Swift Communications and the parent company of The Aspen Times), in 2000, it held onto aspen.com but shut it down as well.
Bastian said Friday that he thinks Morris failed to take advantage of a good opportunity by allowing residents of Aspen to run the site.
Robinson agreed.
“I always thought aspen.com was just a great brand,” he said.
Perry noted that all of the ads for aspen.com are driven by Google links to such sites as hyattaspen.com and aspenclub.com. As of Friday, there were no display advertisements on aspen.com.
“They are all Google ads,” she said. “That’s where they’re getting their revenue from.”
For years, tourism officials have expressed curiosity about the site and its untapped potential. But Perry said many Internet users these days just type the word “Aspen” into a search engine such as Yahoo or Google, instead of typing in the URL.
The first site to appear by typing in “Aspen” on Google on Friday showed aspensnowmass.com, the site for Aspen Skiing Co. The same day, aspen.com was the 10th entry to appear on such a search.
There, the user was greeted with this intro: “If you have never been to Aspen you are in for a treat. The City has a warm and inviting personality that makes it an ideal Tourist stop. Downtown caters to higher end designer shops, restaurants and plush accommodations. The area surrounding Aspen features the second homes of many of the affluent from around the world. Aspen holds tight onto its position as one of the best ski resorts in the world so be sure to bring your skis.
“If you are looking for a relaxing vacation and you want to experience some of the finest dining, accommodations and shopping in the world as well as spend a few days testing your endurance on the slopes — Visit Aspen Colorado.”
rcarroll@aspentimes.com
