Fathom was an online learning portal project, spearheaded by Columbia University, that opened to the public in late 2000. Partners in the venture included the London School of Economics and Political Science, the British Library, the New York Public Library, Cambridge University Press, and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. Failing to turn a profit despite a 2002 business plan change, Fathom closed in early 2003. In the late 1990s, Columbia University, led by executive vice provost Michael M. Crow, sought a way to use the emerging World Wide Web as a strategic tool for extending higher education's reach to the public. The university hired Ann Kirschner in late 1998 to help develop this plan. Over a one-year period starting in January 1999, Crow and Kirschner quickly drew up the blueprint for Fathom, hoping to gain a first-mover advantage over potential competitors. More information...
According to PR-model, fathom.com is ranked 48,003rd in multilingual Wikipedia, in particular this website is ranked 33,813th in English Wikipedia.
The website is placed before forensicnews.net and after executivegov.com in the BestRef global ranking of the most important sources of Wikipedia.
