GENinc Information Pamphlet

Thank you for requesting information regarding Global Exposure Network Incorporated's products and services. We hope this material is helpful and informative and we look forward to providing your organization with dynamic Internet media publishing applications.

Global Exposure Network, Incorporated

Global Exposure Network, Inc. (GENinc) is a full service Internet media publishing company, specializing in providing products and services to the Travel and Tourism Industry, Real Estate Industry, Chambers of Commerce, Convention and Visitor Bureaus, and Economic Development Organizations worldwide. GENinc offers Internet media applications ranging from simple text and images to online audio and video applications. The products and services of GENinc are designed to "strategically align" otherwise independent professionals and organizations thereby creating greater value and mutually beneficial relationships.

Table of Contents

*The Internet
*The World Wide Web
*Answers to frequently asked questions about the Internet *Current Internet Statistics *Product information

The Internet

The Internet is the world's largest computer network, or more precisely, it is an internetwork - a network of networks. One can access files on machines across town or across the globe via the Internet as if they were sitting on one's own hard drive. Today the Internet provides access to information as diverse as the people who use it - everything from Grandma's chocolate chip cookie recipe to manuals for computer programming languages. It makes all this information available by interconnecting the large commercial computer communications services such as CompuServe, Prodigy, Delphi, and America Online with tens of thousands of university, government, military, and corporate networks.

The World Wide Web

The World Wide Web, or Web for short, is described by Tim Berners-Lee, one of its organizers, as "the universe of network-accessible information, an embodiment of human knowledge." The World Wide Web, or WWW, began at CERN in Switzerland. It has its own body of software and a set of protocols and conventions. It uses what is known as hypertext - blocks of text that when selected automagically pull up related information either from the same system or from a remote one. One example would be following a link from the name of a city to a document describing restaurants, hotels, and entertainment options in that city. This is analogous to reading the definition of a word in a dictionary, then looking up a word used in the definition of the original word.

With interfaces to WWW for both dumb terminals and graphics-capable PC's and workstations, access to WWW is spreading quickly. The interfaces are easy to use and require very little computer literacy, which means that their user base is expanding rapidly. Many Web documents include pictures, sound, and/or animation. With these capabilities, the Web's popularity is growing daily in diverse organizations. The Exploratorium in San Francisco has a Web server. So do the city of Palo Alto, CA; the states of Texas and Ohio; and the United Nations. There are servers in many countries including Switzerland, Germany, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

About the Internet

How Many People Use the Internet?

It is difficult to say how many individuals use the Internet; however, most experts put the number somewhere between 20 million and 35 million. The Graphics and Utilization Center at Georgia Tech reports that 653 new unique hosts accessed their server during one seven day period. During February, 1994, a total of 11,415,444,417,600 (eleven trillion four hundred fifteen billion, four hundred forty-four million, four hundred seventeen thousand, six hundred) data bytes crossed the NSF backbone of the Internet. In March that number increased to 14,024,028,116,050 bytes. Because no commercial traffic crosses the NSF backbone, that data was by educational and research institutions alone! Commercial applications are expected to exceed 1,000,000,000 users by 1998.

How can I see my own documents?

In order to view documents on a WWW server, you will need a 386 or better IBM or compatible computer running Microsoft Windows, at least 8MB of RAM and a Super VGA display; or an Apple Macintosh running System 7 with at least 8MB RAM. You will also need a modem with which to dial into our network. The modem should be at least a 14.4Kbps and your computer, if it is a PC, must be equipped with 16550AFN UARTs (commonly known as "high speed serial cards"). All IBM PS/2 computers come equipped with 16550AFN UARTs; most clones do not. Finally, you will need an Internet connection. GENinc can provide you with an Internet connection or find you the most cost-effective connection in your local area. After obtaining the Internet connection and proper account, you will be able to access the World Wide Web. (Two commercial companies also offer "Internet in a Box" software, which includes access to the World Wide Web.) You may also purchase a complete system from GENinc that is already configured with hardware and software to view and serve documents.

GENinc also provides helpful suggestions for assisting your clients and customers to understand the value and opportunities found on the Information SuperHighway.

How can my customers view my products and services? As explained above under "How can I see my own documents?," your customers will need a properly configured computer together with certain peripheral devices such as a modem. They will also need access to the Internet and World Wide Web. GENinc. can help you provide your customers with browsing software to help them use and navigate the World Wide Web.

What kinds of statistics does GENinc provide?

GENinc is able to provide a variety of statistics concerning the usage of your Internet documents. The most important statistic is the location of the users accessing the system. This report shows the name and, if available, the geographical location, of the host requesting each document. Another available report is a list of documents that users have looked at, and the name of the host and geographic location of the host. This report allows the customer to see the most frequently accessed documents in the system. Also provided as a free document for each community is an "Internet Response Survey", which will allow the gathering of much more information, including an individual's full name, their e-mail address (useful for the development of mailing lists) and, if the user desires to give it out, their home address. This data is saved on behalf of the customer and additional reports can be generated from this data.

Why advertise on the Internet? There are many benefits to advertising on the Internet. Among them are the low cost of the media, the fact that advertisements can be fully interactive, even allowing the consumer to place an order online, and the exponential user and service growth. TIME Magazine's July 25, 1994 issue says, "The Internet is filled with bright, well-educated, upwardly mobile people."

*Who advertises on the Internet?

*What organizations have Web servers?

*Growth of Internet Usage
The Internet is growing at a phenomenal rate; some estimate that a new user comes online every 20 seconds.

*Demographics of Internet Users
Some of these demographical data are from a survey by Texas Internet Consulting; others are from the Georgia Institute of Technology's Graphics, Visualizaton, and Usability department.

* Commercial Application Growth Rate
While the rate of growth of commercial applications on the World Wide Web is difficult to determine, most experts agree it has exploded from the handful that existed a year ago to a probable several thousand today. *Product information