About Lafayette Online

background :: staff :: mission :: advertising :: contact us

Background

Lafayette Online appeared, in its first incarnation, in early 1995 as a list of hyperlinks to local sites of interest on the website of Lafayette's first Internet Service Provider, Metropolitan Data Networks. Requests to expand the information on the initial page were so numerous that the simple document soon grew into an entire website. More and more content about the Greater Lafayette community was located and added to the database. The website became so massive that it was given its own domain name and made independent of the ISP. After six months of intensive development, Lafayette Online was officially launched on July 4, 1995.

Since 1995, the website has won numerous awards for depth of content, ease of use, and overall design. Awards include the NetGuide GoldSite award, the Reader's Digest "LookSmart" Editor's Choice, Starting Point Editor's Choice, Eye on the Web "EyeSite" designation, and also a coveted Cool Site label from the Open Directory Project. The ODP supplies the directory content for major portals and search engines like Netscape, AOL Search, Lycos, Webcrawler, HotBot and Northern Lights. Lafayette Online also enjoys top listings in nearly all of the major search engines thanks to the richness of the content and ceaseless efforts to improve and expand its offerings. You can check out all of our awards in our Awards Gallery.

Staff

Carolyn Shelby, cms@lafayette-online.com Webmaster and Owner of Lafayette Online, LLC
	Carolyn has been designing and building websites since late 1994. She served as the webmaster and managed Greater Lafayette's very first Internet Service Provider, Metropolitan Data Networks, from 1994 through 1998. She created and launched Lafayette Online in July of 1995. Carolyn is responsible for determining what content will be added to the database, creating new graphics and layout, and oversees the day-to-day operations of the business. In addition to managing Lafayette Online, Carolyn also writes a blog about Search Engine Optimization, Small Business Marketing on the Web, Copywriting and Content Development, and Domain Names at www.cshel.com.
John E. Hogg, Contributing Editor
	John received his BA in Communications from Purdue University in August of 2003, and was a staff writer for the Exponent for two semesters. In addition to fact checking and providing editorial assistance for the Lafayette Online News, John has extensive technical support experience and assists webhosting customers with technical issues and performs site maintenance.
Jennifer Persinger, Customer Support Technician
	Jenn has more than 10 years of network experience, and served as a user support consultant at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA while she was studying there. In addition to providing general support for Lafayette Online customers, she also has experience in HTML and web design, and can answer related questions.

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Mission

Our mission is to put as much useful local content online as possible, and to provide a central location through which Greater Lafayette information and data can be accessed.

As part of our long standing committment to providing content, Lafayette Online provides free web hosting and very low cost web design and email access to Greater Lafayette not-for-profit organizations. We also provide free services to the general public, such as free classified ads, a community message board and an events calendar to which groups may submit events they would like to share with the community.

Further, we play an active role in assisting the major search engines and directories catalog local websites by volunteering as category editor on the Open Directory Project for the Lafayette, West Lafayette, Tippecanoe County, Purdue University, and Battle Ground categories.

Our project is constantly evolving, but our goal to provide the users with fresh, up-to-date information in an aesthetically pleasing manner remains unchanged.

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Advertising

We sell advertising and sponsorships to cover the costs associated with operating and maintaining the website, and to allow us to continue providing services to local not-for-profit organizations. Advertising on Lafayette Online is not only a great way to foster name recognition and reach tens of thousands of new and existing residents and students per month, but also helps us help local groups better serve our community.

Packages are available to fit all budgets. Please see our traffic and rates information on the web at http://www.lafayette-online.com/ads/.

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Still more info...

Database addition requests, URL submission forms and anything else that you'd like to snail-mail to us can be sent to:

Lafayette Online
P.O. Box 5464
Lafayette, IN 47903-5464

Via email, we can be reached at:

	Site Administrator/Webmaster Carolyn M. Shelby, cms@lafayette-online.com
	Press Releases/News Items news@lafayette-online.com
	To alerts us to new or updated information updates@lafayette-online.com
	Ad sales/Sponsorship Information Web: www.lafayette-online,com/ads/ Email: sales@lafayette-online.com