You, the learned, savvy -- maybe even stuffy -- individual, can't believe what you're reading.
"OK. Let's say it's Tuesday afternoon, around 2:15 p.m., and you're at work. Into your office comes the hunky single guy from down the hall, the one you've had your eye on for a while. He closes the door behind him. You cross your legs provocatively, which causes your size 2 spandex miniskirt to ride up an inch or two."
You take a quick look around to make sure no one's looking over your shoulder and read on.
"That's it. He lunges for you, takes you in his arms, throws you on the desk, and you make passionate love. Just another day at the office."
No, this isn't the opening of a Harlequin romance. It's the intro to TV and The Single Girl, the first installment in a new series of content features brought to you by Britannica.com -- as in Encyclopedia Britannica.
With new "spicy" content designed to appeal to the young-and-bookish set, the digital sister of the 232-year-old Encyclopedia Britannica company hopes to breathe new life into the staid business of reference media.
The company launched As Seen On TV, a series of link-laden essays that seek to educate even as they titillate. Though the series doesn't feature video or audio, Britannica.com is banking on the text itself as a "sticky" app that will draw readers deeper into the site's reference reserves.
The first episode, TV & The Single Girl, traces the progression of the single girl in pop culture -- from the prim Eve Arden, schoolteacher on Our Miss Brooks (1952-56) to the charmingly conflicted Ally McBeal, America's favorite waif.
Future installments include Sanitized for Your Protection: TV's Rebel Teen, and The Neighbor: The Importance of Being Annoying.
"Interestingly, we seem to be attracting more single people in their 20s than in the past," said Jocelyn Turpin, executive producer at Britannica.com. "The shift is partially the result of the more grownup features we've developed."
If it seems as if Britannica.com is going out on a limb, it is. Britannica Inc.'s five-year Web history is marked by false starts.
The company launched Britannica.com as a free site in October 1999 —-as an alternative to the mostly subscription-based Encyclopedia Britannica Online -- but it was forced to shut the site down after attracting more traffic than it could handle. A month later, the site relaunched, only to be tripped up again in May 2000, when the company cut its overseas staff and postponed its plans to develop specialized regional sites.
"Britannica seems to come out with a new business model, a new approach to content, or a new pricing policy every month or two," said Daniel O'Brien, an analyst with Forrester Research. "Maybe their problem is they don't stick with any of these things long enough to see if they work, but I have to admire them for really coming back to the well and trying new ideas."
Indeed, in its efforts to reposition itself as an "edutainment" destination on the Web, the company overextended itself and was recently forced to trim its editorial staff. This spring, the site is scheduled for a revision that will bring the focus back to its core application: reference searches, which remain the key attraction for 85 percent of Britannica.com's users.
"In the past we really did try to be all things to all people, but we've found that it doesn't make sense for us to be a broad general-interest site," Turpin said. "We're refocusing on what we do best: knowledge, learning and reference. The challenge is to make searching fun, interesting and relevant to people's daily lives."
Although Britannica.com will continue to use original material such as the As Seen On TV series, it plans to cut back on developing content in-house. Instead, it will broaden its offerings through third-party content and e-commerce partnerships.
The new site will also feature several community boards, where users can discuss specific articles or participate in live chats with experts. And, to bolster its "authoritative and credible" brand image, the site will also develop several "best of the Web" directories, directing users to other sites that offer complementary services and information.
Britannica.com sells CD-roms, DVDs, and other products at its online store. And it has recently added free wireless downloads. The company plans to launch a new product this spring called Britannica School that will be targeted at educational institutions.
"Encyclopedia is Latin for 'circle of knowledge.' We view Britannica.com as a place where you can go and refer to the whole breadth of historical, cultural, and geographic context of almost anything," Turpin said. "By taking full advantage of what the Web has to offer, we're completing that circle."
"Certainly in terms of network service Britannica got there first and that's what's important," said Clifford Lynch, director of the Coalition for Networked Information, a consortium that promotes the use of technology and digital information in education. "But I would have presumed that most people think of Britannica as a reference tool rather than a site you visit to see what's new and interesting. I would wonder how much how much things like Ally McBeal show up as reference queries."
But if what you're looking for is more spicy content a la TV & The Single Girl, don't fret. The site will continue to offer its popular feature The Annotated Dennis Miller and will soon update its All About Oscar companion to the awards show.
"Our catchphrase is "smart content, smart search, for smart users."
"For instance, we have a piece coming up on the semiotics of Britney Spears' bellybutton," said spokeswoman Rebecca Theim. "It explores how the cultural significance of bellybuttons has changed over time by focusing on Britney as a cultural icon."
