[MasterJ]

I'm just curious if someone could provide me with a basic history of G2G. How did it get started and why?

[Advertisements]

Geeks everywhere had no where to go. So, God created Geeks to Go.

[admin]

Geeks everywhere had no where to go. So, God created Geeks to Go.

[dsenette]

you're a real nice guy blair...but....god? a little inflated there ey?

[admin]

Can I help it if I have an Oedipus complex and delusions of grandeur?

[warriorscot]

Not really, but we are talking to a monkey using the internet.

[ukbiker]

Can I help it if I have an Oedipus complex and delusions of grandeur?

Hmmm You sure about that?

[warriorscot]

Deary me , i just looked that up thats utterly horrible how could you thats wrong on so many levels.

http://www.cla.purdu...ns/oedipus.html

Im dissapointed.

[admin]

Probably didn't have the reference quite right, and it's a little deep for this discussion -- so I'll stop right here.

[fleamailman]

Perhaps to give this place a wider apeal we could change the G in the first word to Fr, at least we would receive more Google hits that way.

Edited by fleamailman, 08 March 2006 - 01:47 AM.

[dsenette]

we could change the G in the first word to Fr

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA*COUGH*HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

man it's always fun when you chime in flea....THAT WAS GREAT

[fleamailman]

Thanks dsenette, if you like, but keep it secret as I am actually a serious freshman there now, and I don't think it is quite what they meant by "test your sig" ;besides, it is a little bit difficult to do a blog here where you read Matalica blog discoverring the latest gem of malware code, followed by fleamailman's blog on "my aunt's lumbaigo"

http://forum.malware...opic.php?t=7714

[admin]

There are many threads on this topic, but nothing recent, so I'll recap.

I read an article (I think in Forbes) about the fastest growing franchises of the past year. One of them was Geeks on Call. I thought it was a cool idea, and fit well with my passion for computers. So, I had notions about starting an on-site computer repair business myself. However, none of the franchises met my needs. I was very surprised to find that geekstogo.com was available, so I registered it.

Over the next year or so I did a lot of research, determining if my local market would support such a business, deciding if it was really what I wanted to do, etc. I also worked on developing a site. Well, the owner of geeks2go.com (now defunct ) discovered my beta site, and had his lawyer send me a letter threatening trademark violation. I found out it would take a $1,400 retainer just to consider the case, and actual legal fees would be much higher -- even though I would likely win. That plus the fact that I was becoming more successful in my day job lead me to put it on the back burner.

That back burner happened to be a free computer help forum. For the first six months or so it was just myself, and although it was VERY slow to start, I was surprised how fast it grew. We had MANY months of exponential growth (doubling traffic every month). I remember my first hosting plan was $10/YEAR. Then I think I met our current server admin, and got on shared server for $10/mo. Next it was a small dedicated server at $100/mo, and now it costs many times that.

When it was just myself, I never had any advertising or donation links. As we grew, and the expenses became higher we tried donations to the site. However, it soon became clear to me that it would be more fair to allow the helpers to receive donations, and try to pay the expenses through non-obtrusive advertising. At the time, that created quite a stir. I think time has proven that it works well!

I still enjoy my day job, and I still get a real kick out of helping others. My time in the public forums has unfortunately become limited as admin and other responsibilities with a larger site take more of my time (as well as my one-year old daughter ). Someday we still may expand into on-site repair, or other areas, but I'm actually thankful to the jerk that threatened to sue me. I've spent countless hours here, and it's taken a huge commitment, but of course, I could NEVER do it alone. The wonderful staff here is what makes Geeks to Go so special!

[warriorscot]

And arent we thankful to that other g2g chap, I must say i wouldnt mind a call out service extra cash always appreciated.

[MasterJ]

Thanks Blair. That was exactly what I was looking for.

[james_8970]

intersting was always wondering that myself. I'm happy that there are people out here ready to help, because i love to learn .
James