In about April of 1996, through a free website provided by 'www.geocities.com,' James E. F. Riley, Sr. established a presence on the World Wide Web. This presence was located at 'Http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/4415' and was called: 'The Irishscribe.' This site consisted of poems, short stories, r鳵m鳬 family information and a page for his teenage daughter. In approximately two years, there were over 567,099 'hits' on this free, non-commercial site.

During this time, the author wondered about the commercial aspects of his site. Streaming video technology progressed, the author (working in the field) earned his A+ and Microsoft Certified Professional credentials, it seemed only natural to try to put these stories together as plays for the Internet. On January 15, 1999, James E. F. Riley, Sr. registered the domain name 'www.onlinetheater.com' as a first step in producing his short stories as streaming video content for world wide web consumption.

In the months of March and April in 1999, Mr. Riley became an official 'affiliate' of Amazon.com, Egghead.com, Qsound, Value America, Reel.com, Tickets.com, Fogdog Sports, Tutorals.com and SmarterKids.com. These links were added to the 'Irishscribe' site as an RnD type trial, while 'Onlinetheater.com' will maintain only the more related type links in the future.

By June of 2000, the first production of 'onlinetheater,' "A Woman's Scorn" was taped and is currently being edited to feature on the Internet.

Setting-up, planning, purchasing needed gear and equipment, rewriting material, shooting tape and editing material.

short term - to establish a pre-commercial onlinetheater site

mid term - to establish a commercial onlinetheater site

long term - to build onlinetheater into a mainstream entertainment provider

By the year 2003, it is estimated that worldwide Internet commerce will approach US $3.2 trillion and represent nearly 5% of all global sales. Many companies have already sprung to life on the Internet; from such extraordinary business ventures as Amazon.com to Yahoo. Founded as a conventional retail business in 1984, Egghead Software shut down approximately 250 retail stores in 1993, 80 stores in 1997 and another 83 in 1998 to become Egghead.com. On September 21, 1998 'InterVU' delivered CNN interactive video (President Bill Clinton's grand jury testimony) to 500,000 users which demonstrates the growing potential for viewership and sales on the Internet.

One provider, '@Home' expects to have five million or more American homes able to receive video over the Internet. While the total number of households using the Internet are forecasted to increase to 36.5 million in the year 2000 suggesting an affluent, educated and hungry audience looking for something novel, interesting and entertaining. 'Entertaining' being the key word, 'entertainment' being the driving force behind business on the Internet.

As already shown, these numbers by and of themselves would put the television networks to shame. The viewership for President Clinton's grand jury testimony alone was equal to or even higher than that for many CNN programs and these numbers will only continue to grow! Giving the first entrants in the field an advantage that until now could only come to someone with access to the major television networks.

Our vision is to tap into dynamic changes in technology and consumer behavior to give our audience an alternate choice of fresh and exciting stories on streaming video. Using unpaid and therefore fresh unknown actors and actresses. Discovering our way, through competitive new technology into todays homes and the global marketplace of the twenty-first century, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week!

Currently, it is reported that Americans are spending more on entertainment than on clothing or health care. As the world economy becomes more intertwined, the convergence of computers and telecommunications as well as the development of new, portable Internet/Entertainment delivery systems is creating a nearly limitless market for just this type of innovative and exciting content!

Starting small, 'www.onlinetheater.com' will grow into a larger entertainment venue. Possibilities include establishing a presence in traditional media services such as radio, television and film, as well as a larger presence on the Internet - modeling an entertainment segment of the World Wide Web after online malls to offer other talent avenues for public display of their art. We want to establish corporate branding in this industry of tomorrow that will make us THE Cadillac, THE Coca-Cola, THE Marlboro and THE Nike of entertainment.

The short answer, for now, is no. However, there is a growing demand (market) for Jim's poems, short stories and a curiousity about his novels ('Frightened Whispers' and 'Miles the Bolde'). Jim has been published as a guest columnist in the Santa Monica Outlook, his poems and short stories have been published in electronic forms and his novels are being read by graduate students in Caracas, Venezuela.

As thousands of people become more familiar with this body of work, Jim is seeking representation and formal publication. Anyone with such connections or abilities should contact Jim Riley as soon as possible!

e-mail @ onlinetheater

Created: November 05, 2000r.
Last Updated: November 20, 2005r.