Centre Of the Web began in early 1996 as an informal gathering of public service-minded Web professionals who occasionally met for lunch to talk about Internet stuff. The discussion group environment provided us with new resources for expanding our knowledge and abilities. Suddenly, seemingly insurmountable challenges in our Web work became do-able, as we began to work together, combining our skills to complete projects that none of us could have done alone.

Community Service Initially, much of our work together consisted of Community oriented projects. Those projects are still ongoing because we believe that we can make a significant contribution to the growth and usefulness of Central PA's Internet presence by creating informative, easy-to-use Public Service WebSites. Our long-term plans include expansion of our Community Service development with such projects as the Community Calendar, constant improvements to our WebBarkerTM system currently (and continuously) driving the Cable News Channel operated by 95.3/3WZ on AT&T Broadband, continuing updates and refinements to the sites we've created and maintain for CentreCounty.Org, B.I.A.C.C., D.S.C.P.,Inc., C.P.F.A., 4th of July Fireworks Festival, and more. It is our intention to interconnect the features of all these sites (and more) to provide the public with easy access to any local information they might need. Eventually our network of informational sites will provide the public with automatic email updates on local events and bad weather closings, search capabilities, instant access to news, weather and sports. We intend to have all this in place as, over the next few years, the "general public" gets fully wired and comes online in full force.

We quickly realized that, by working together, our potential is far beyond what any of us can achieve working by ourselves and the decision was made to begin marketing our group.

Centre Of the Web, as an organization with a name, was born as we prepared for our public debut at the Preview '97 regional trade show in July of 1996.

Skipping the details of the next year, by June of 1997 there were eight of us who had become so involved in the informal group that it was no longer informal, so we made it official and filed for incorporation.

So, here we are, with our own network and high-speed connection to the net and dozens of clients, and here's where YOU come in.

The C.O.W. is continuing to grow. Our Associates Program is designed to carry on with the original purpose as a discussion group and resource to be used by all. As a corporation, C.O.W. is now in a position to offer you our expertise and services (Web Hosting, Domain Registration, etc.) at discount rates. In return, all we ask is that you support our efforts by attending occasional meetings and bringing your resources to the entire group.

Some of the gigs we get are Public Service sites for which we receive no monetary compensation. If you are a Public Service-minded individual, you might want to volunteer to help with our yearly updates to the Arts Festival, 4th of July or First Night State College sites.

Also, ongoing maintenance and updates to the EBCC, DSCP, CentreCounty.Org and Bellefonte Chamber sites might be something for which you would like to volunteer. Working on these sites can open up new opportunities for you as you connect with the vast network of businesses and individuals involved in these community organizations.
(C.O.W. receives no monetary compensation for work on these sites. They are "labors of love" that we do as volunteers in service to our community.)

If you love Central Pennsylvania and want to really help to make our little area of cyberspace become something that people can (and will) actually use in their daily lives, then please contact us and get involved.

Benefits
(Umm...good cud!)

As a Centre Of the Web Associate, all our resources are at your command. We even have a discounted rate structure on services you probably need in your own work. Although we can't offer dialup services, we can give you lots of other good stuff.