Who started FreePint?

FreePint is published by Free Pint Limited which was founded in 1997 by FreePint's Managing Editor, William Hann.

William has a background in information services, having worked for a number of database vendors including the Financial Times, Dialog and News International.

William was awarded the title of European Special Librarian of the Year in 2000/2001 for his contribution to the information industry through FreePint. He received an Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) Golden Candle Award in June 2002 for being "... a true open source cyber-citizen and intelligence minuteman, at the forefront of peer-to-peer computing ...". In 2002 he also received the Jason Farradane Award from the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) for innovation within the information industry.

William has a first class honours degree in information science and can be contacted by email to <william.hann@freepint.com>.

How is FreePint funded?

FreePint is supported by sponsorship and advertising, and through sales of commissioned information management reports.

FreePint is part of a wider network, including sister company Willco Limited. Willco provides hosting of online communities, email newsletters and online forums.

Other sites within the network can be accessed via the Willco Customers page.

Why is it called FreePint?

FreePint's founder William Hann originally came up with FreePint's name in 1997 whilst sitting in a park in central London, England (next to Embankment tube station) between meetings.

Whilst trying to think of a name for the new newsletter, he formed an anagram from the first letters of words and phrases like "People Interested in Net Tips". After coming up with 'Pint', the fact that that newsletter would be free provided the full name of 'Free Pint' (shortened to 'FreePint' in March 2003).

William was so convinced that this was the right name, he immediately bought the domain name using his mobile from the park bench.

The offer of a free pint (as in a pint of beer) to many people in the UK is a tempting one and so it has proven a powerful name for marketing purposes.

However since only a third of FreePint's 70,000 members are in the UK there is sometimes confusion in other countries about the meaning and pronunciation of "pint". Many Europeans incorrectly pronounce "FreePint" with a hard "i" (rhyming with "mint") whilst many others presume it to be "FreePrint" (with an 'r').

If you would like to hear "pint" spoken then use the definition from Encarta.