My experience with online community building started in 1983, when I was called in to manage a retail store for CompuShop, one of the largest national computer retailers of that time. I transmitted daily reports and communicated with other store managers across the country through an electronic bulletin board service using a 300 baud modem. Two years later Microsoft, IBM, and Adobe opened tech support forums on  CompuServe. My store’s tech support crew and I joined to download the latest drivers and patches for our customers. Because of my marketing background, I also joined the CompuServe PR & Marketing Forum. While I rarely found time to take advantage of that forum, the contacts I made led me to other major private bulletin board services and the early versions of the proprietary networks, Prodigy® and AOL®.

I signed on to the commercial interactive services as a permanent resident for the first time in November 1990 where my explorations quickly led me to their public bulletin boards, forums or message centers. I enjoyed sharing information and tips with fellow cybertravellers about America’s Land of Enchantment, home to the world’s largest ballooning event, and with other folks running their own businesses or aspiring to start one.

It was in November of 1991 that I started the “Adventures With Barb” message series on the Prodigy® Network. That series led to the development of a private online community of consultants, then to a dedicated area for small business open to the Prodigy public, on to private e-mail discussion groups, and finally moving to the commercialized Internet in 1994 to private chat and message forums on the World-Wide Web.

In 2011 I plan to celebrate my 20 years of online residency with family, friends, and colleagues during the annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta®.