MMSTL - The Internet
The advancement of computer technology has been an incredible evolution to have witnessed. From "Pong" to PCs to a means of connecting an international network of home-style computers known as web servers, the Internet has become a normal part of our everyday lives.
While it's true that the Internet did have its beginnings a lot earlier than people generally know about (dating back to the 1960s), it really blossomed in 1994 with Yahoo and Netscape search engines being introduced in that year, and people were getting more accustomed to computers for the home and business, subsequently making the transition from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95. Other search engines like Infoseek would arrive a year later (1995), and in 1996, the alternate platform for browsing the web, as opposed to PCs -- Web TV -- came into being.
The idea of mingling the Internet with the MMSTL was a pretty thrilling feature for the league (and myself), and it seemed like a natural to combine the web with the migration to the weekly booklets. Because the Internet was such as exciting option, creating an interface for the existing desktop computer program for the MMSTL was challenging, but a lot of fun to work on. Once the programming end was completed, the goal was that since the Internet was available 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week, it would be ideal if the website for the league were to updated only a few hours later on the Friday nights that the league bowled. With so many bowlers being wound up from bowling when leaving the "alley", if the league could be updated by midnight or 1:00 am, the night owls could get the info "hot off the presses", so to speak. Others could wake up the next morning and check the results at the first opportunity.
After a few month's promotion from the late summer of 1996, the first published website for the Mens Maryland Suburban Traveling League was introduced on an interior page of the November 1, 1996 weekly booklet, at the "then" website, "http://www.MMSTL.com". In regard to where the MMSTL site would be physically located (via modem connection), at the time, a lot of websites were part of a shared plan, under a parent provider (like EROLS), such as something like, "http://www.EROLS.com/AcmeRoofing/" or "http://www.EROLS.com/EddiesPizza/", and then the name of a specific web page at the end of the link, like "http://www.EROLS.com/AcmeRoofing/ContactUs.html". A shared plan was generally free, but I sort of felt that it would be a lot easier for the bowlers if they had a short "dot com" name to remember (or to pass along to friends). This meant purchasing a hosting plan with web space, and also a completely separate domain name from a web host like "Erols", which was a big player in VHS tape rentals at the time and they were also getting into web hosting.
Having a website had many advantages. The obvious one was that bowlers didn't have to wait until the following Friday to see the league results, and since it was a traveling league, they could check the website as a reminder as to which bowling center they were scheduled be in, for the coming week. On a larger scale, a perk that came from having a dedicated Internet presence for the league was that it did tend to distinguish the MMSTL. In bowling circles, the league achieved an added level of credibility, and became a reference point outside of local bowling communities. (This is best illustrated at the Communications link).
One of the added advantages for the league having a website was that with the frame-by-frame inputting process, as well as other content for the league, was greatly expanded, and the web offered practically unlimited space for viewing the additional statistics. For those members who weren't 'Internet savvy' yet, they still had the weekly booklets to fall back on, when arriving at the lanes on the upcoming Friday.
When it came to the overall sport of Bowling, the MMSTL website's new content and ideas were on full display on a weekly basis. In those early days, the adding of basic meta tags and SEO (search engine optimization) techniques were very effective in allowing the Yahoo and Netscape search 'programs' to connect the league with the population across the country, and even the entire planet. Thus was a demonstration of the potential and power of the Internet.
PROMO PAGE FROM THE SUMMER FLYER
FIRST LISTING OF THE WEBSITE ON A SUNDAY MATCH BOOKLET COVER