10 Years of Collecting on the Web

It was in 1939 that Jamestown Stamp Company began serving collectors via mail order. That's some impressive history. No one questions this company's commitment to collectors or its knowledge of the hobbies it tailors to. Likewise, it was in May of 1996 that Jamestown Stamp Company first purchased the domain name jamestownstamp.com. A mere decade in most industries is just a small milestone. On the Web, it's huge!

I am embarrassed to say that I didn't realize this until I was working on some updates today. There it was at the bottom of our front page "Copyright 1996-2006". In some small way I'm sure that my oversight is a testament to how we simply plow ahead as time flies by. But ten years? Wow! So, how big is the ten year mark for the Web?

I did some quick research during lunch and could not come up with any of the other big names in the collectibles industry that went online before us. The closest I could find registered 13 months later in 1997. Hey, when a decade is old, you have to count in months! Curious, I thought I'd check out other big names outside our industry. Google came along 15 months after us, MSNBC was 5 months before us, Barnes and Nobles was 8 months ahead of us, and Wal-mart was 15 months before us. Suddenly I'm feeling the need for more rest...and perhaps a cane. Internet Explorer version 1 came out just a few months before our Web site. Yes, I recall downloading Internet Explorer ver 3. It took me days. And I remember when all Web sites seemed to have text that blinked at you. And let's not forget when the world scrambled to sign up online to receive free underwear. That poor outfit was out of business in days.

Maturity. That's what this is about. Thank all of you who have been with us through the years...even before Al Go...I mean Tim Berners-Lee invented the Internet.

-- James the Web guy