Talk:Chapter 6 - Craving for Connection
From NetHistory
Somewhere in this impressive history of the Internet of New Zealand it might be useful to acknowledge the work of the early Internet publicists -- those who opened up the world of the Internet for members of the newly emerging dial-up community in New Zealand.
The path was blazed by David Merritt and Paul Reynolds in 1995 with their book 'Internet: A New Zealand User's Guide'. Subtitled 'What You Need to Know To Join the Information Super-Highway' -- a phrase that now seems quaintly old-fashioned -- the book was published by Penguin just at the dawn of the Web, when NCSA Mosaic was the biggest (only?) game in town, Netscape was just appearing on the horizon, and Microsoft was still getting Windows to work properly. For many users, the guide to successful configuration of a SLIP connection was by itself worth the purchase price.
Soon afterwards, in the early part of 1996, Reed published 'Surf's Up: Internet New Zealand Style'. This introduction to the new world of the Web was co-written by Katherine Phelps and Chris Lipscombe (yes, that's me) and was based on an earlier Australian version written by Phelps. The book was designed as a combination of springboard and Linus blanket, simultaneously launching and reassuring novice Internet users on their first online forays. And yes, there was even a chapter on Internet commerce -- all five pages long.
(It's a sad fact that I have continued to maintain a small collection of pages on this book as part of my website at http://www.redeye.co.nz/surf.htm. Consider it an historical artefact!)
The following year in 1997, the Internet commerce theme was picked up by Jim Higgins in his book "Net Profit: How To Use the Internet to Improve Your Business'. Also published by Penguin, and billed as 'an Internet Guide for Every New Zealand Company', this book was a much more serious look at the business opportunities created by the growth of the Internet, and grew out of a series of seminars Jim used to conduct on the same subject.
Other advocates like Russell Brown used regular media columns and radio programmes to spread the word. Jonathan Ewart delivered seminars around the country and sold modems (first 14.4 Kbps, and then the new 28.8 Kbps versions) to support New Zealand's growing Internet habit. Richard Naylor, first with his DECUS hat on, and then as Wellington InfoCity's fibre pioneer, conducted seminars around the country, introducing would-be Internet users to essential tools and protocols. Soon the new commercially oriented Internet Service Providers would pick up the promotional challenge, but for a little while there in the middle of the 1990s, an enthusiastic bunch of amateurs were instrumental in spreading the word.
