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Year in Review and a Look Ahead

By
Executive Director

Happy New Year WOW members and thanks for your membership! 1999 promises to be an exciting year, filled with even greater opportunities for those of us involved in the exploding technology of the Internet. For this month's issue of the "message to the members" we would like to reflect on a few of WOW's accomplishments for 1998, our enthusiasm for the future, and more reasons to get involved in the coming year.

The Internet commerce is now a multibillion-dollar business--that continues to grow by leaps and bounds. For instance, eBay, the person-to-person auction site, went public in late September, despite that month's market turmoil. The second week of December, investors had bid up eBay stock to $186.13 a share, a 934 percent jump from its IPO. Although Web retail giants eBay and Amazon.com dominated the market, a number of small and specialty merchants also jumped aboard the e-commerce train-via Yahoo, Excite and a host of other small shopping agents--in time to bring holiday shopping to their customers. As we suspected, the Internet has become the mall for the millenium.

Additionally, reports show that AOL's advertising and commerce fees increased 140 percent--from $43 million in 1997 to $103 million in 1998, in the quarter ending in September. The tremendous growth of the Internet, also provides opportunity for WOW members. Clearly, market demands will offer great opportunity for individuals and companies that will create, manage and market the new and existing Web sites.

The following is a highlighted list of a few of WOW's accomplishments of the past, a look into the future-and based on input from many of you-- a recap why we think that now is a great time to be a member.

A quick recap of our year…..

• In 1998, WOW met with leaders within industry--Microsoft, Oracle, Adobe, Novell, IBM and others to determine the educational standards that will be required by current and future Webmasters and other Web professionals.
• Furthered our Educational Alliance Program by establishing relationships with top flight universities, community colleges and training companies across the country-including Stanford, UC Berkeley, Northeastern University, Penn State, University of Washington, Prosoft Training and many others --who are now rolling out the WOW endorsed curriculum. And the momentum is continuing with dozens of others hopping on board in the next few months
• Prentice Hall agreed to publish the Certified Professional Webmaster (CPW) series for WOW level one and level two-certification program
• Participated in various forums and industry events from the International World Wide Web Conference Committee's (IW3C2) annual event in Australia to WOW's involvement with the W3C's very important Web Accessibility Initiative. WOW is proud to have announced the appointment of B.K. DeLong, WOW's Editor in Chief, to the their Education & Outreach and Authoring Tool working groups.
• In 1998, we continued our efforts to promote WOW's mentoring and Web educational interest. Our Webfair program was designed to assist youth at-risk as well as aspiring Webmasters of all ages
• Participated in and announced support for the Web Standards Project. Our own B.K. DeLong sits on the Steering Committee for the group.

A look into the future of what members can expect for 1999…

• Increasing customer/employer demands will require Webmasters to possess a complement of marketing and promotion skills in addition to technical and design skills. WOW will continue to provide support in these areas
• WOW will continue to work with industry and academic leaders in setting the international educational standards for Web professionals.
• WOW will continue its commitment to promoting quality Web education for aspiring and practicing Web professionals worldwide
• WOW will continue its support of our WebFair program and our mentoring efforts
• More news and reviews on the topics of interest to you
• The development of additional WOW chapters worldwide
• More discounts on additional products and services

Here's why you'll want to get more involved in 1999…

• Networking and learning from your peers
• Setting standards for education and certification will lead to more and better paying jobs
• Teaming up with others to complement your skills
• Reviews in a variety of subjects from marketing, legal, security, public policy and products reviews
• Help shape the future for fellow Web professionals
• Increase your knowledge base
• Discounts on hardware, software and much more

From all indications, the future for Webmastering looks bright. The upward trend and popularity of the Internet will provide plenty of opportunity for aspiring and practicing Webmasters alike. Like you, we also hope to grow. In order to do so, we need your help and continued support. Please help us help others. If you have something to share with your fellow members, please let us know by posting your questions, comments or concerns on the WOW members' message board. We'd also like to ask you to keep us in mind when you need us to cover a particular challenge or a topic of interest. We appreciate your involvement in 1998 and look forward to working with you in the years to come.

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ALL OF US AT WOW!