Molecularist

TheFeature is gone. I remember the begining from before I joined Nokia and I was there very close to the owners when it was at the end.

May the spirit live on.

The End of the Road

By TheFeature, Thu Jun 30 12:15:00 GMT 2005

Five
years ago, we set out to build a community to explore the mobile
Internet. Now, that community is strong enough to move ahead on its
own.

When TheFeature.com was launched in the fall of 2000, it was a
pretty revolutionary idea — a corporation like Nokia setting up an
independent, non-branded site with the task of getting people thinking
and talking about the future of mobile communications. Its goal was
straightforward: "TheFeature aims to be nothing less than a voice — an
opinionated, independent voice for the mobility community." With the
dramatic changes in the Internet publishing landscape since then, and
the rise of blogs in particular, TheFeature’s role as a leader in the
community perhaps isn’t as necessary as it once was, with many quality
sites discussing relevant topics and providing outlets for the vibrant
community that’s sprouted up around the mobile industry.

So in
that sense, we can say "mission accomplished." It’s with a heavy heart,
then, that we must reveal this will be the last post on TheFeature.com.
When the site launched, 3G was still a far-off, almost pipe dream
concept, and GPRS was barely a reality. We helped begin a conversation
around these ideas; we now leave that conversation to carry on in the
community that supported us.

TheFeature has always, at its
heart, been a community — so we extend an enormous thanks to those who
participated in it, either by commenting or interacting, just reading
or linking to us and carrying on the discussion of ideas presented here
in their own space. We couldn’t have accomplished everything without
you. We also owe a huge debt of gratitude to all our contributors,
particularly those that have worked with us over the last two years.
We’ve been very fortunate to assemble a staff of some of the best
thinkers and writers, who in turn have worked tirelessly to come up
with great stories to share.

Now is the time for us to step
back, and let the conversation and community move forward on its own.
It’s been a great ride, and we’re glad that everyone could join us. So,
would the last one out please turn off the lights…