Dialog is an online information service owned by ProQuest, who acquired it from Thomson Reuters in mid-2008.[1][2]
Dialog was one of the predecessors of the World Wide Web as a provider of information, though not in form.[3][4] The earliest form of the Dialog system was completed in 1966 in Lockheed under the direction of Roger K. Summit.[5] According to its literature,[6]
While being owned by the Thomson Corporation, Dialog consisted of the Dialog, DataStar, Profound, and NewsEdge businesses. Dialog and DataStar were consolidated into Dialog. The news content from Profound and NewsEdge were consolidated, and the market research business from Profound was sold to MarketResearch.com. The NewsEdge business was eventually sold to Acquire Media, now Naviga. Prior to being owned by Thomson, MAID purchased Knight-Ridder Information which included the Dialog and DataStar businesses. MAID renamed itself to be the Dialog Corporation.
