The website Malawi mobile carriers are touting as their partnership with Facebook to allow subscribers access to FREE internet was originally owned by Michael Bauer.
Michael Bauer, the original owner of Internet.org before Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, discovered what became of his treasured domain just like anyone else: while watching Chris Cuomo on CNN.
“I woke up this morning and saw my domain there on the ticker. I almost spilled my coffee,” Bauer told VentureBeat earlier today.
Bauer, the CEO of Brilliant Arc and the creator of the first version of MapQuest, registered Internet.org way back in 1993. While it has taken many forms since then, in its most recent iteration, the domain was a place to talk about some of the big topic issues related to the Internet — like freedom of speech, open access, censorship.
“I was always trying to hold on to it until l could find the right utilization of that name. I’ve always considered myself its caretaker,” he said.
While Bauer says he sold the domain back in April or May, the deal went through a third-party broker, which means that he never had a much of an idea of who it went to. Hence his surprise when he found out that its new owner was none other than the CEO of Facebook. (As far as price goes, Bauer would only say that the amount “wasn’t significant.”)
Source: Venturebeat.com
