Welcome to GNN, today is 

GNN FACTS
Interesting facts about the original GNN service:
  • GNN was the very first commercial web site on the internet
  • GNN was also the very first internet portal
  • GNN was the ancestor of sites like Yahoo, Google, MySpace, etc...
  • GNN was launched at a time when the entire internet consisted of just over 500 pages worldwide
Interesting facts about the GNN software:
  • The GNN web browser (Internet Works) introduced the concept of tabbed browsing.
  • At the time of the browser's release, the rendering and plugin capabilities ran circles around IE.
  • The GNN software suite included a web browser, email client, IRC chat client and dialer.
  • Most of the GNN software (albeit in a somewhat limited fashion) still functions well today.

GNN MILESTONE - THE BEGINNING:
GNN or the Global Network Navigator is an Information service first started by O'Rielly and Associates in 1993. The service was designed as a totally free way of providing information to both novice and advanced internet users. The idea of GNN was to provide the user with enough resources to take full advantage of the information superhighway. Click here to read the original announcement.

Under O'Rielly and Associates, GNN became the very first internet portal at a time when the World Wide Web was in its infancy. GNN set pioneering trends that are still seen today in sites from eBay to Yahoo!


GNN MILESTONE - THE AOL PURCHASE:
In 1995, GNN was sold to America Online Inc. in the hopes of forming an 'Internet Only' service provider. This soon became the GNN internet service. Check out The AOL Plan to see how, when, and why this went about.

The GNN Internet Service was started as an attempt to be a sister to the ever growing internet giant; America Online. The idea was simple; GNN was to provide a means of internet access at a reasonable price for more advanced internet users while leaving younger kids and novice users to the tamer waters of AOL. The GNN service soared to popularity with 100,000+ new members in its first three months of operation.


GNN MILESTONE - THE COLLAPSE:
When AOL began its unlimited access campaign, many people began to sign up with AOL. GNN was no longer seen as a worthy investment. AOL moved on the decision to discontinue the GNN service. In late 1996, GNN was officially dropped with most of its members having no choice but to move to AOL.




GNN MILESTONE - THE RELAUNCH:
In June of 1997, CampUSA found an old GNN Home Page on an anonymous FTP server. Liking the idea of having an information service with numerous links to many internet resources, an unofficial plan was put into motion to revert the Global Network Navigator back to what it was primarily designed for; providing an information safe-haven for internet users of all types at no cost whatsoever.

With virtually all of the GNN links wiped out, CampUSA began to hunt the internet for new resources. Links were found, ideas were joined and soon the rebuild commenced. GNN was reconstructed with a few new things and a few old things to truly provide the greatest internet experience of all.

In 1993 and 1994, GNN was among the highest utilized sites on the internet. Now that it has been relaunced in 1997, it will hopefully reclaim some of the glory that it once held under O'Rielly and Associates and under America Online.