Decades before Google, Facebook and Amazon Web Services — all of which have invested billions of dollars in central Ohio — came along there was CompuServe, the first major online service that gave home computer users access to the internet and made the region the center of the tech world.
Chat forums and bulletin boards, email, widespread access to online newspapers and magazines, stock quotes and weather forecasts were among the host of products and services provided to users years before they became available elsewhere. The company, which was created in 1969, was famous for inventing the GIF digital graphics format.
At its peak, CompuServe served more than 3 million subscribers.
“I always wanted to have fun. I always wanted to make money, and I wanted to change the world,” said Jeff Wilkins, who helped found CompuServe in 1969 and today serves as the executive chairman of Facilities Management eXpress software company. “Now, I haven’t changed the world, but I certainly influenced it. … I have done that multiple times. How can you have a life better than that.”
Ohio historical marker honors CompuServe history
Before Christmas, the state placed a historical marker at CompuServe’s old headquarters at 5000 Arlington Centre Blvd. in Upper Arlington in honor of the 50th anniversary of the company putting its headquarters in that building.
CompuServe operations remained at the 20,000-square-foot building until 2009 even as the company was sold to H&R Block in 1980 and then sold again as part of a three-way, $1.3 billion deal with WorldCom and AOL in 1997.
The company ultimately employed 1,300 workers in central Ohio, including 810 at its headquarters, The Dispatch reported in 2009.
The city of Upper Arlington along with GOSH Enterprises, the current owner of the building that is developing it as commercial office space, sponsored the event that drew local and state business and political leaders.
Lt. Gov. Jon Husted compared the work done by CompuServe to the development of the steam engine by opening the door to the digital pipeline of information.
“It was so foundational to the world we live in today,” Husted said. “It happened right here.”
“Google, (Amazon Web Services), Intel, Facebook — those are companies that would not exist if not for the seeds planted in this room,” said Kenny McDonald, CEO of the Columbus Partnership, the region’s most powerful civic and business organization.
Amazon Web Services’ investment in the region has hit $7 billion and will at least double by the end of the decade, said Merle Madrid, public policy manager at Amazon Web Services.
“That’s all because of what started here,” he said.
CompuServe history
CompuServe’s history dates to 1969, before the company set up shop at Arlington Centre Boulevard.
Wilkins and his father-in-law, Harry Gard, founded CompuServe as a computer-time sharing service, operating as the computer department of Golden United Life.
Wilkins wanted to know if the company’s computers, which were busy during the day serving commercial clients, could be used at night.
At the same time, hobbyists were starting to dabble in a new thing called the personal computer.
“Personal computers were kits initially. No one really made a complete machine,” Wilkins said.
It started as a test with a computer club that had several hundred members, he said. The company put up databases its commercial customers were using that Wilkins figured individuals also would want to see.
“To my great surprise, people were starting to use us,” he said. “That’s when I thought there was something there.”
CompuServe introduces first online newspaper
Wilkins knew if he really wanted to grow the service, he had to have more content.
“I thought, ‘Gosh it would be great if we could get a newspaper service up on the CompuServe Information Service,” he said. “That would help us drive subscriptions.”
Wilkins met with the publisher of The Columbus Dispatch, John F. Wolfe, to see about accessing the newspaper, the first newspaper in the country to test the technology.
The Dispatch began transmitting newspaper content through the service that included accessing content from The Associated Press.
Who’s Who of Journalism comes to CompuServe
After the success with The Dispatch, Wilkins wanted to extend the partnership to other newspapers and pitched it to the AP’s board of directors made up of leaders of some of the nation’s biggest newspapers, including Katherine Graham, publisher of The Washington Post.
Those leaders gathered at the CompuServe headquarters where Wilkins asked for 10 volunteer newspapers that would be willing to offer $250,000 of free advertising for each paper plus access to the AP wire service, and The Columbus Dispatch would be the first paper to participate.
“Essentially, I tried to present a picture of what it was and could become,” he said. “These people are all visionaries.”
The board agreed, but said Wilkins needed to offer the service to any newspaper that wanted to participate in the test.
On July 1, 1980, Wolfe, Graham and Wilkins officially launched the service to CompuServe’s then 10,000 home-computer subscribers.
The news flowed into home computers at 300 words per minute and users paid $5 per hour for the service that was billed in one-minute increments.
It marked the beginning of a growth spurt for the company.
“Almost everything that ever ended up on the internet, we had in some form or another on the CompuServe Information Service,” he said.
H&R Block bought CompuServe in 1980 for $20 million.
“I figured we needed capital to grow this thing,” Wilkins said. “I could see what it was going to be. I was looking for a partner who could help us do that. We were growing as a company very rapidly.”
In 1985, Wilkins was forced out of the company, but even then he said he continued to care about it.
“The momentum was so strong at that point in time. All the pieces were in place. The talent was great. The motivation was high. The company was going gangbusters. … When you have that kind of nuclear energy, you can get a lot of stuff done.”
@BizMarkWilliams
Tyler Fields is your internet guru, delving into the latest trends, developments, and issues shaping the online world. With a focus on internet culture, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies, Tyler keeps readers informed about the dynamic landscape of the internet and its impact on our digital lives.
