ODwire.org
ODwire.org is a private online community founded in 2000 for eye care professionals, offering forums, COPE-approved CEwire continuing education events, webinars, and industry news to over 25,000 optometrist members.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersLake Oswego, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What ODwire.org does
ODwire.org is a private online community platform founded in 2000 by Dr. Paul Farkas for eye care professionals, including optometrists, OD students, opticians, and ophthalmologists. The platform offers private peer-to-peer discussion forums, continuing education through the CEwire event series (COPE-approved credits), live and on-demand webinars, ODwire.org TV & Radio multimedia content, The ODwire Journal editorial coverage, an aggregated Eye Care News feed, and a classifieds marketplace. It claims more than 25,000 OD members and is administered from Lake Oswego, Oregon, currently by Adam W. Farkas following the founder's passing in January 2026.
The technology is a web-based community platform built on XenForo forum software, supporting forums, private messaging, RSS, news publishing, and event streaming, and is accessible as a progressive web app on iOS via Safari. The business model is freemium: basic membership is free, with monetization coming from CEwire event registration fees ($179 pre-registration for CEwire2026, which offers 75 COPE credit hours across four live events) and sponsor advertising from eye-care industry vendors. No external investors, private equity, or institutional funding have been disclosed; the company appears to be privately held and bootstrap-operated with a 1-10 employee footprint.
The platform's competitive position rests on its 25-year operating history, claimed status as the largest and longest-running social network for eye care professionals, and the network effects of a closed, private community where content is not exported to external search engines. Recent operating activity in 2026 (CEwire2026 launch, PWA rollout, ongoing news publishing) indicates continued operations, while the post-founder leadership transition represents a material governance event.
ODwire.org firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ODwire.org
- Legal name
- ODwire.org
- Website
- https://odwire.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- ODwire.org is a private online community founded in 2000 for eye care professionals, offering forums, COPE-approved CEwire continuing education events, webinars, and industry news to over 25,000 optometrist members.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ODwire.org industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Professional Community for Eye Care
- NAICS
- Information (51)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Open Multimedia OER (video, audio, podcasts, animations) (EDAGAJAF)
Keywords
Where ODwire.org is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lake Oswego
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
ODwire.org business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Membership Fees: Basic membership is free for all eye care professionals including Optometrists, OD Students, Opticians, and Ophthalmologists.
- CEwire Event Registration: The platform's CEwire continuing education events charge registration fees. Pre-registration is $179 with discounts available. The events offer COPE-approved credits.
- Sponsor Advertising: Industry sponsors and vendors advertise on the platform. The site operates sponsorships and clearly discloses advertising relationships.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free Membership |
| Subscription | Annual | CEwire2026 Pre-Registration |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
ODwire.org product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ODwire.org operates an online community for eye care professionals—optometrists, OD students, opticians, and ophthalmologists—offering discussion forums, COPE-approved continuing education (CEwire), webinars, TV/radio content, a journal/newsletter, news, and classifieds. The core free offering is community membership and discussion, with paid CE event registration and sponsor advertising as the commercial drivers.
Product overview
ODwire.org is a community platform for eye care professionals offering a suite of products including private peer-to-peer discussion forums, The ODwire Journal (the optometric paper of record), CEwire continuing education events, live and on-demand webinars, TV/Radio multimedia content, an aggregated Eye Care News feed, and classifieds. The platform serves over 25,000 OD members and is free to all Optometrists, OD Students, Opticians, and Ophthalmologists. CEwire is the flagship CE event offering 75+ COPE-approved credits through multiple live synchronous dates annually plus on-demand access.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- CEwire: The largest continuing education event in eye care, offering COPE-approved credits through live online events and on-demand lectures. Associated closely with ODwire.org.
Products and services
- ODwire Forums Free online discussion forums for optometrists, OD students, opticians, and ophthalmologists to network, ask clinical and practice-management questions, and share peer advice. Built on XenForo forum software and serving more than 25,000 OD members.
- CEwire Continuing Education COPE-approved online continuing education program for optometrists, delivered via webinars and online events. Practitioners register for CEwire events to earn required CE credits.
- ODwire Webinars Online webinar programming for eye care professionals, used to deliver CEwire continuing education sessions and clinical/business content to ODwire members.
- ODwire TV and Radio Video and audio programming distributed through ODwire.org for eye care professionals, extending the community's content beyond text-based forums.
- The ODwire Journal Editorial journal and newsletter published by ODwire.org, providing curated articles, news, and commentary to optometrists and eye care professionals.
- Eye Care News News content covering clinical, industry, and practice-management topics for optometrists and the broader eye care community.
- ODwire Classifieds Online classifieds section where ODwire members can post listings such as equipment for sale, practice opportunities, and job openings for the eye care profession.
Quantifiable outcome
- 25,000+ OD members
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use ODwire.org
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
ODwire.org technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
ODwire.org partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
ODwire.org competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Doximity: Largest professional social network for U.S. physicians with verified membership, private messaging, news feed, and CME; serves as the analogous scale model for ODwire.org's optometrist community, though broader in scope.
- Healio: Medical professional news, peer-reviewed journals, and CME platform with dedicated optometry content; directly comparable in providing practitioner news and accredited CE verticals.
- Optometry Times: Optometry practitioner publication offering news, clinical content, and CE credit; directly comparable to The ODwire Journal/News aggregation as an optometry-specific information + education vertical.
- Sermo: Online physician community offering peer discussion, expert panels, and sponsored content; directly comparable to ODwire's professional eye-care community model serving a specific medical specialty.
- Review of Optometry: Long-running clinical and business publication for optometrists with CE content; comparable news/CE + optometrist audience model to ODwire.org.
- Jobson Optical Research: Optical/eyecare industry information services and publisher of multiple optometry publications and event properties (Vision Expo); comparable in combining media, CE, and industry sponsorship for the optometry community.
Emerging players
- Figure 1: Clinical case-sharing social network for healthcare professionals - conceptually similar community/knowledge-exchange value proposition but focused on image-based case crowdsourcing.
Broad incumbents
- Medscape: Major medical professional news, education, and CME platform owned by WebMD; comparable to ODwire.org in combining optometry/medical content, news, and CE, but serves all specialties at much larger scale.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
ODwire.org social profiles
Digital presenceODwire.org financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ODwire.org leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
ODwire.org funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ODwire.org M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ODwire.org
What does ODwire.org do?
ODwire.org operates an online community for eye care professionals—optometrists, OD students, opticians, and ophthalmologists—offering discussion forums, COPE-approved continuing education (CEwire), webinars, TV/radio content, a journal/newsletter, news, and classifieds. The core free offering is community membership and discussion, with paid CE event registration and sponsor advertising as the commercial drivers.
Is ODwire.org a public or private company?
ODwire.org is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was ODwire.org founded?
ODwire.org was founded in 2000. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is ODwire.org based?
ODwire.org is headquartered in Lake Oswego, United States, in the North America region.
How does ODwire.org make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Membership Fees are the primary driver. The others are CEwire Event Registration and sponsor Advertising.
Who are ODwire.org's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Doximity, Healio, Optometry Times, Sermo, Review of Optometry and Jobson Optical Research. Figure 1 is listed as an emerging player. Medscape is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does ODwire.org have an API?
No public API is recorded for ODwire.org.
What industry is ODwire.org in?
ODwire.org's product category is Online Professional Community for Eye Care. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAGAJAF, Open Multimedia OER (video, audio, podcasts, animations). Its NAICS code is 51 and its SIC code is 8600.