It all started.....

Year 1997. I started interacting with web technologies from the other side of the counter. From basic HTML to advanced ASP scripting and component creation and MS SQL database integration within MS Internet Information Server. Around the year 2000 I presented a project of mine at a conference/contest and was awarded 1st place. The project was a CMS with some basic features. Rare a that time, there I was being a big innovator.

I learned a lot about web technologies in those initial years, and even gave a couple of lectures on topics related to web development, 3 layer model, site usability, etc specially in connection to the various Microsoft Web tools at that time.

Even though I had an impressive amount of academic and hands-on knowledge on certain tools, I did lack the commercial vision and expertise as far as the actual money making aspects was concerned. I had never purchased or traded a domain, hosted a real website, and hadn't even heard about things like affiliates, web marketing, organic search, open source CMS's, web templates, payment integration, mass emailing etc.

Due to different circumstances that are irrelevant right now, I was sluggish to learn and incorporate the above technologies which lead me to "miss the train" in the most profitable online money-making techniques, most of which with my background I was in the best position to take advantage of and actively participate in the incipient Internet marketing of the beginning of the decade.

To be continued...