
<PAGE>

                                                                    Exhibit 23.1


                       CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS

The Board of Directors
About.com, Inc.:


We consent to incorporation by reference in the registration statement on
Form S-3 of About.com, Inc. of our report dated January 24, 2000, relating to
the consolidated balance sheets of About.com, Inc. and subsidiaries as of
December 31, 1999 and 1998, and the related consolidated statements of
operations, stockholders' (deficit) equity and cash flows for each of the
years in the three-year period ended December 31, 1999, which report appears
in the December 31, 1999, annual report on Form 10-K of About.com, Inc., and
to the reference to our firm under the heading "Experts" in the registration
statement.

                                       /s/ KPMG LLP
                                       KPMG LLP


New York, New York
April 3, 2000


