Oprah.com, launched by world renowned talk show host Oprah Winfrey in June 1997, operates as part of the Oxygen Media Group's online division. It is the official Web site of The Oprah Winfrey Show and O, The Oprah Magazine. The site also offers information on Oprah's Book Club and Oprah's Angel Network and vows to help women "Live Their Best Life" by giving advice on relationships, food, mind and body, and lifestyles. Web surfers visiting Oprah.com—the site averages more than 155 million hits per month and 3,000 e-mails per day—can subscribe to Winfrey's magazine, see post-show discussions via streaming video, write in an online journal, chat with other online Oprah fans, and even e-mail Oprah Winfrey herself.
The Oprah Winfrey Show, which debuted in 1986, gained unprecedented popularity within a few years of its first airing and quickly became the most successful and highest-rated talk show in all of television. In 1995, Winfrey teamed up with America Online (AOL) to provide her online viewers with Oprah Online, an AOL site dedicated to information about her show. Two years later, ABC Internet Group and Winfrey's company, Harpo Productions, created Oprah.com to provide Web surfers information on the show, its guests, and a variety of other topics including its famed book club and the Angel Network. The site also allowed those who could not watch the show during the day access to information about its topics and provided an easy way for viewers to communication with the show's staff.
In 1998, Winfrey formed Oxygen Media LLC, a company dedicated to providing entertainment and information to modern women. Oxygen Media included Harpo Group LLC, GBL LLC, and Carsey-Werner-Mandabach LLC. The media group eventually included a cable network and several online properties including Thriveonline, Moms Online, Girls On, and ka-Ching. Oprah.com joined the Oxygen.com group of Web sites in August 1999.
Oprah.com 's popularity continued to grow as more women began using the Internet. According to Forrester Research, 29 percent of all American women—compared to 39 percent of American men—were using the Internet on a regular basis in 1999. By 2005, the firm predicted that more than 71.2 million women would be online. Forrester also predicted that the average annual growth rate over the next five years for women would be 19 percent—compared to 13 percent for men. As more women went online, researchers found that sites most often patronized by women were those relating to health and quality-of-life issues. Oprah.com was able to use the success of the popular television show to tap into the increasing number of female Web surfers, turning the Web site into the one of the most popular online destinations for women. In fact, Winfrey herself encouraged women to become Web savvy by promoting the Oxygen production "Oprah Goes Online" on Oprah.com. The 12-part series detailed the steps she and friend Gayle King took in learning how to use the Internet themselves.
Oprah.com, primarily known for its informative Web content, slowly entered the arena of e-commerce when Winfrey began using Oprah.com to promote O, The Oprah Magazine. By late 2000, visitors to the site were able to subscribe to the magazine and hear messages from Winfrey in specialized sections of the Web site that included Here We Go, What I Know for Sure, and Oprah's Cuts, which featured excerpts from magazine interviews. The Oprah's Book Club section of the site also was popular. It was rated as one of the top 10 places to find literary information on the Web by Galaxy.com, a vertical Internet directory. While visitors were not able to purchase book club selections directly from Oprah.com, many used the information on the site to make purchases elsewhere. Oprah.com also featured the O List, a myriad of Winfrey's favorite products including everything from vases to bath salts to tin plates. The list included links to the product's Web site or information on how and where the listing could be purchased.
In June 2000, Oprah.com was rated the top TV show Web site by PC Data. Winfrey was contracted through the 2003-2004 television season, securing the Web site's position as a leading online destination for women, which like Winfrey's daytime show continued to work toward her vision of empowering women across the globe.
FURTHER READING:
"Data Zone: Top TV Show Web Sites." Electronic Media. August 7, 2000.
Donahue, Dick, and Daisy Maryles. "Oprah Yet Again." Publishers Weekly. October 18, 1999.
Greenberg, Paul A. "Gender Gap Narrows As Women Take to the Net." E-Commerce Times. November 9, 1999. Available from www.ecommercetimes.com.
"Need an Oprah Fix? Now She's on Your PC." BusinessWeek Online. November 5, 1998. Available from www.businessweek.com.
"The Oprah Winfrey Show Fact Sheet." Chicago, IL: Oprah.com, 2001. Available from www.oprah.com.
Schneider, Mica. "Go to Oxygen.com If You Can Never Get Enough Oprah." BusinessWeek Online. November 24,1999. Available from www.businessweek.com.
"Top Ten Literature Web Sites Announced." PR Newswire. September 29, 2000.
SEE ALSO: Women and the Internet
User Comments Add a comment…
11 months ago
thanks very much Oprah for inspiring talk show i love your and you are star keep doing the good work
about 1 year ago
Thank you! Standing "O" for Oprah for today's show with MM, Uwe, Karen: The answer to the question regarding availability of healthcare that is not income dependant (gas station attendant's child vs. executive) is a resounding = (equal healthcare for all. The comparison made by Uwe regarding the cost of 9 mo. of Iraqi war being the same as revision of USA healthcare, is a "no brainer". How callous it is, that everyone doesn't believe that, and there is so much elitism in our society. Please tell me how I can be of service for the transition. I have dual (Canadian and American) citizenship, and saw the transition from private insurance to community responsibility in Canada, that started in Windsor, Ontario, started by 7 doctors, in 1962. The goal of any healthcare plan should be survival - physical, mental, sociological, and financial. As a 68 year with 47 years of experience as a R.N., I have been fired 3 times, in the past 3 years, due to exorbitantly higher premiums charged to employers for their 55+ year old employees. That is a little known fact which friends of mine who employed 25 people in their own business, discovered when they attained 55 years and Blue Cross charged them $900./month each for their own coverage, 10 & 15 years ago. When they turned 65, and had Medicare coverage, Blue Cross wouldn't allow that to be their primary coverage, insisting that their Blue Cross policy have that role. They retired. Medicare needs to blend with the new equal opportunity program!
about 1 year ago
I SEEN YOUR SHOW ON AUTISM. MY THREE DAUGHTERS WERE NOT IMMUNIZED. MY POINT IS WHEN THEY REACHED COLLEGE AGE THEY WERE REQUIRED TO HAVE SEVERAL SHOTS. I CHOSE THE MMR BEING THAT THEY WERE GIRLS. THEY RECEIVED THE SAME AMOUNT OF VACCINE AS A 15 MONTH OLD WOULD. JENNY McCARTHYS COMMENT ABOUT THE SHOTS SHOULD NOT BE ONE SIZE FITS ALL AND I TOTALLY AGREE. HOW DO YOU JUSTIFY GIVING A PERSON THATS 6FT TALL WEIGHING APPROX 160# THE SAME AMOUNT OF VACCINE AS A 2 FT TALL PERSON WEIGHING 30# OR SO. I FELT THAT WITH THEM BEING OLDER THEY WERE ABLE TO HANDLE THE VACCINE BETTER. MAYBE DRS AND THE HEALTH SYSTEM SHOULD REALIZE THAT SOME CHILDREN NEED A SMALLER DOSE THAN OTHERS.
about 1 year ago
Dear Oprah I am spanish person who admire you. You are very strong and a good model to many people like me. Your shows are wonderfull. Dear Oprah. Do you ever think to do show about the real estate market in Naples, Florida. I moved last year from Illinois and I was hoping any ideas or resources for me and people like me in the situation to loose or houses. I talked to my mortgage Bank to prevent this thing happen and they told me nothing they can do and try to look resources and nothing is available to solve this kind the problem. How is the best to handle. Is there any help emotional and financially. I know is something materialistic but I did work hard Hopefully to hear from you. Thank you Maria
about 1 year ago
Since this is a free country Oprah can endorse Barark "Osuma ben laden" Obama all she wants,but I will not vote for him or any other demorat!
about 1 year ago
Oprah; Are you really ging to give someone money to help their campaign, when they don't believe in GOD! Please tell me I'm wrong.
about 1 year ago
Oprah I Lost me two girls to social services almost three years ago. They say we are not fit parents. My oldest daughter Rebekah said she had been molested by my nephew who was living with us at the time. The courts got mad because I would not say that I knew who it was that molested her nor could my husband. She says we knew but God up in heaven knows we didn't. I could not swear it was him because I din't know and I am not sending an innocent person to jail. Now they say they don't want to come home but I feel they have been brain washed by the Social Services and their House Parents, I miss them so much, everyday I think of them and about how much I love them. The courts took our parental rights and we can't see or talk to them. We have appealed it though. I want my children home. They don't have any real proof that it was my nephew, he even told them he would take a lie detector test and they would not set one up. The Disrtict attorney said they didn't have anything to go on to start a trial but they did anyway. The Social Services never tried to reunite us at all. The second time we were in court they ask for cease reunification. And we did every thing the Judge ask us to do and everything the Social Services ask us to do. We know that something happened to Rebekah but we can't prove it. But the Social services never tried to reunite us as a family. They just let us visit one hour per week and that was all they did. Both of our daughters told us that the House Parents and The Social Services told them that we would beat them and do all kinds of things to them if they came home. They have them scared to death to come home. I there anyway you could help us get our two girls back? We are a very loving Christian family and would never let something like that go on if we knew about it. We have been praying for almost three years now for God to send the girls home, we really believe in God and prayer. That's another thing the Social Services and The Judges didn't like because we are Christians. PLEASE HELP IF YOU CAN. They are in the custody of the Burke County Social Services: The number there is 828 439 2003 and you would talk with Sandra Dale. They live at South Mountain Childrens home and the Social Services could tell you that number they are in the Carpenter House with Rebecca Posten and Sam Posten. Thank you in advance for all you can do. Love, Sherry Henry
about 1 year ago
I don't know who gets these comments but I hope it goes in the right hands and maybe someday ends up in Oprah's. I am a mother of 2 , my son is a Marine stationed at Quantica Va. and my daughter is a freshman in high school. I don't work (my husband does) and so when they are doing what they do during the day I watch the Oprah show. I'm sure it was a re-run that I originally missed about your show "PAYING IT FORWARD" and was so inspired I formed a group on Cafe Mom called paying it forward hoping that I can get others as Inspired as I was. We live in a run down trailor that we rent and we don't have much but I made a few sandwiches and grabbed some bottles of water and gave them out to some people that lived in a nearby park. I just wanted to thank Oprah for inspiring me and I'll try to let her know how my group is going on Cafe Mom. Thank you Connie Montgomery
about 1 year ago
I would Oprah to help our school bible study out reach project. The project we would like to do is to raise money to help stop slave trafficing. They are referred to as the "street girls" But we have no conncetiond with anyone in Brazil. Please help us Oprah.
about 1 year ago
I would like to reach someone that is affiliated with Oprah and see if she can help make a change in the world of animal shelters. I am a volunteer and I work with finding homes or getting the dogs pulled from the shelter before they are killed. In my investigating I have found out a lot of things that they don't want the public to find out. Its horrible and the rescue people need the public to know where their tax dollars are going
about 1 year ago
I have a customer (in my knit shop) that has been making felt purses and selling them to raise money for Opera's Angels. She has raised over $1400.+ last year. If one person can raise this kind of money alone, imagine what tens of thousands knitters across the country can accomplish if they joined in this effort. My store, Knit n Purl, would like to begin selling kits to make these bags, as we did in 2004 with our Scarves for Breast Cancer project that was so successful. Any publicity you could give us would certainly help Oprah's Angels. Thank You
about 1 year ago
Oprah i understand how you feel about the death of pet it really hard. it been 1 month i lost my beloved poodle to a pittbull attack i was walking my 2 poodles and a pittbull mauled one and killed the other and all i could do was the only thing i could do try hard to save them. im seeing a psychotherapist for the emotion affect this has had on me to watch my baby killed and i could not save him
about 1 year ago
oprah . i am watchinh ur show right now. it is wed june 20 that girl that killed her baby is not sorry . the whole time she was talking she was beteening to cry . the tears where not real i did not see one tear come out of her eyes.
about 1 year ago
What are we going to do now.Monday 15, Tuesday 16. We must stop the language, we must stop the viteos. What about the commercials on T.V.? almost all of them are of sexial content. Degrading women of any color should not be allowed. We must stop buying the products, and we must have a strong voice. Sex sells.Degrading women and vile words in movies sell. Women who sing and men who sing that make viteos try to make each one more shocking with sex then the last one. Woman should know better then to make those vedeos, Men too. We have to start with the entertaianer, producers,a dn commericals.It is very sad. Our young people need to be protected.
about 1 year ago
On the Monday April 9th show on addiction, one of the guests said he has not had a drink in 2 years He mentioned a pill that has helped him. What is the name of the medication that he has been taking?
about 1 year ago
I would appreciate it if you could please tell me how I might reach the OPRAH STAFF in order to send a book idea. New MEDICAL research on ALCOHOLIC BLACKOUT and how the brain does not record any current memory, so kids drink & drive in this state, not knowing they are drunk and with no memory. Dr. Sweeney,s research shows a SYNOPSIS OF THE BRAIN occuring. A simple verbal 4 word test verifies the condition. 30% of drinkers have this happen to them and DON'T KNOW IT. Everyone should know about this brain synopsis to protect themselves and others from drunk driving, rape, and even murder all occuring while in alcohol blackout.
about 1 year ago
I tried to find way to e-mail letter to apply for "in your wildest dreams" entry. Oprah said on her show to go to Oprah.com, I did, but could find no reference to contest. Can you help me?