Happy 20th Birthday World Wide Web

The World Wide Web turns 20 this year. In 1989, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who was a software consultant at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, proposed the concepts which became the World Wide Web. Prior to his proposal, the Internet existed almost solely as a research network for government and university science and engineering professionals. Sir Tim was concerned that saved research documents were becoming “lost in hyperspace,” and his proposal introduced the concepts of the domain name, which converted numerical Internet Protocol (IP) addresses into more easily remember and used names, such as www.wyzguys.com, for instance, the Domain Name System or DNS, which is a worldwide network of database servers which keep track of web based resources, and the hyperlink.

Four years later the Mosaic web browser was released, and the rest is history. In his written proposal he said, "We should work toward a universal linked information system, in which generality and portability are more important than fancy graphics techniques and complex extra facilities." Look how it all turned out. Sir Tim currently works as the head of the World Wide Web Consortium, where he continues to manage the new protocols and contributions which are extending his original vision in ways he never imagined. Click here read a longer article on Silicon Valley.com.
Because CERN listened to Berners-Lee, and decided to give it away to the world, rather than patent and monetize it, the WWW protocol supplanted another protocol called Gopher, which was invented at the University of Minnesota.
An interesting side note, the Internet itself is 40 years old this year, having begun in 1969 as a project of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) that was then known as the ARPAnet.

Maximizing Online Networks for Your Business

Online social networks and communities have been another important online tool for companies to consider when creating an overall online marketing strategy. This extends the reach and effectiveness of your basic web site by adding connected accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, and depending on your business, MySpace. You can create a LinkedIn Group as well, if your business would benefit from an interactive space for your customers or user's group. LinkedIn also provides an easy way for you to invite your clients to join your network, get introductions to potential clients they may know in their network, and to solicit and post customer reviews, testimonials, and recommendations.

Starting and making regular postings to a business web log or blog, would also increase your web exposure. It is important that you make regular contributions, and invite your clients to become followers of your blog. Quality is better than quantity, just make sure you are posting something regularly, perhaps shoot for weekly postings in the beginning. I follow several blogs and email newsletters, and many of my posting ideas are suggested by those sources.

Be sure to provide cross links to your online resources, so that visitors to one site and jump effortlessly from your web site to your blog and then to your LinkedIn profile or group. In my own case, I have 5 business web sites, starting at The WyzCo Group, and my web log, and my LinkedIn profile. I am members of 3 LinkedIn Groups.

My total cost? Aside from the annual fees for hosting my web site, absolutely nothing. My blog is hosted by Google on BlogSpot for free, and LinkedIn and Facebook accounts are free as well. This has helped greatly in my efforts to make my small business website produce useful leads and new business opportunities. And who wouldn't enjoy a little more of that?