Happy Birthday to the World Wide Web!
The Oil City Derrick recently featured an article by Gene Policinski with the aforementioned title. Policinski is senior vice president and executive director of the First Amendment Center located in Nashville, Tennessee. In the article, Policinski points out that the World Wide Web was born on August 6, 1991 which would make the phenomenon 21 years of age today. The World Wide Web (WWW) "debuted as a publicly available and revolutionary communication service just a few months before the 200th anniversary of the ratification of the First Amendment as part of the Bill of Rights on December 15, 1791. Thanks to you, the world - and the First Amendment's five freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition - would never be viewed the same way again." Indeed, the WWW has enhanced the way we do business at FL Crooks & Co. on Main Street in Clarion, Pennsylvania.
When our son, Nathan, turned 13 years of age in 1996, we gave him a computer as a birthday gift. His creative father, Jim, devised a clever treasure hunt that sent Nathan all over the neighborhood with clues that eventually led to the computer's hiding place. And what a gift it turned out to be for a lad with an inquisitive nature and a questioning mind. For Nathan, and his generation, it was like a fish in water, a natural fit. It wasn't long until Nathan had his dad's store on-line. And Nathan was recognized for his achievement when the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette named him an All-Star Achiever with an impressive write-up in the paper his senior year of high school.
In the early days of our on-line web presence, in the latter 90's, we sold Tommy Hilfiger briefs by the dozens. Ralph Lauren's Polo Jeans Company was another big seller. (Unfortuately, Ralph Lauren has discontinued that division of his company.) Shoes quickly became a dominant staple online, with the Allen Edmonds company one of our customer's favorites. Nowadays, the number one selling item online is the Sugar Lips Tank Top in White. The number one selling shoe online is the "Tampa" by the NAOT company. Moreover, the Tresics tops, Tulle coats, Levi jeans, The North Face apparel, Patagonia clothing, Johnston & Murphy shoes, Merrell shoes, and DANSKO shoes are all in high demand with web shoppers.
Referring back to Policinski's article, he points out how the "Web moved from being a toy to a tool - from a place for gamers, sports fans and early adopters to a widely used utility, a good place to get practical information, a new platform for self-expression. Companies found they could promote their wares and do business through you, thus forever altering the retail market... But as with all of us entering adulthood, nobody really knows your potential, where you will end up or what your full impact will be. We do know you've matured from toy to tool to necessity. We spend much of our days looking at media through you."
Keeping up with how the WWW has become quite a challenge. There are the delights and challenges of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. right at our doorstep. I just read about another facet of social media yesterday called The Fancy which I want to check out.
In closing, Policinski's sums up his article eloquently, "The nation's Founders lived in a time when freedom of speech meant the right to say what you wanted to your neighbor, and perhaps also to people gathered on the village green. That freedom has moved from the village green to the village screen, with its enormous capacity to reach individuals, communities, nations, the world."
FL Crooks & Co was founded in 1905. At that time, who could have foreseen how the World Wide Web would forever change the way business is transacted. May we continue to use it wisely. Happy Birthday World Wide Web!
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