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A decade on the net. (On the Net).

Article Excerpt
Ten years ago, my first Internet column was published in ONLINE (March 1993, pp. 84-86). Titled "The Internet Meets Online," that first column introduced a variety of information sources available about the Internet. In those early days, the columns were actually titled "On the Nets" to represent not just the Internet, but also the e-mail network of BITNET, the Usenet network for newsgroups, and even legislative initiatives like the National Research and Educational Network (NREN).

On this tenth anniversary of that first column proclaiming the meeting of the Internet with the online searching world, much has changed. Looking back over 10 years' worth of columns gives a snapshot of the growth of the Internet as a major information resource and a look at how it has changed. [Editor's note: Then-editor Nancy Garman introduced Greg as a "net rider," terminology that's now obsolete.]

THE COLUMN

In the early days, the "On the Nets" column aimed to cover the information resources available on the various networks as well as the search and technological interfaces that provided access to those resources. With the decline of BITNET and the way in which the Internet grew and subsumed Usenet, BITNET, and every other Net it could get its hands on, the column title dropped the plural and became "On the Net" starting with the July 1997 issue.

Originally, "On the Nets" appeared in both ONLINE and its sister publication, Database. Between the two of them, that was one column a month from March 1993 through the end of 2000. At that point, Database, which had recently changed its title to EContent, switched to a new editorial focus, and I focused my energies on the "On the Net" columns in ONLINE. Throughout this decade on the Net, I have tried to always feature topics that affect the way searchers interact with the Internet, with a focus on techniques, strategies, and specific information resources.

1993: INTERNET BASICS

My first column certainly was not the first coverage of the Internet in ONLINE. There were several articles in...