Start-up targets civic life

The latest dot-com to enter the online services arena has its eye on more

than government business. CivicLife.com's market includes schools, community

groups, nonprofits and even small companies.

But government — from federal to state to the tiniest of cities — is

central to the company's mission, which is making it easier for people to

interact with civic organizations.

"People have had enough of the days of bouncing from one Web site to

another," said Dave DeRosa, vice president of CivicLife.com marketing, speaking

at the May announcement of the company's launch.

The plan is for the portal to stand out from others in the market by

acting as a window to the whole concept of civic life. While other portals

allow people to get all of their state government business done in one place,

CivicLife.com will let people talk to their state, the federal government,

their child's school and perhaps even their local Little League team.

"The motivation is if you can buy jeans online, why can't you sign up

for soccer?" DeRosa said.

Links to material, such as government e-forms and school applications,

will be posted on the site for free. But the site will charge civic organizations

to embellish their listings with their branded names, more text or other

information, and it will also accept advertising.

DeRosa said CivicLife is counting on organizations to realize it is

worthwhile to invest in their company — even if they already have their

own World Wide Web sites.

"We're not trying to detract traffic from any Web site," he said. "But

there's visibility here, and if they want citizens to make use of their

services, they can extend their reach."

The site won't be fully operational until the third or fourth quarter

of this year.