I first got online in ’90 when I checked out the free AOL disk I got in the mail. AOL-land was fun for a few years, but in ’95 a friend told me, “You don’t need AOL to surf the web.” Honestly, I didn’t know it at the time. A few days later, I said goodbye to AOL and “HOW!” to the information superhighway. People who previously had no interest in PCs flocked to computer stores to get on the Internet and receive e-mail.

The internet really was different back then. Almost everyone used dial-up access, so web pages and sites were simpler. Then it was easier to find “information” because commercial sites had not yet taken over the network. Forums and chat rooms have been around since the early 1980s, but they were clunky and difficult to use. The AOL interface helped make it a lot easier.

While blogging started around 1994, it didn’t start to take off until ’99 with the introduction of “blogging tools.” When political experts got excited about blogging in 2002, the blogosphere really took off. Now, there is a blog for everything. Which is good and bad news. For researchers like me, when I do a search, almost half of the links are to products, services, books, auction lists, forums, or blog comments. At first, I was a bit annoyed with the Corvette forum links because searches often linked to things like “I like the side pipes, too.” But when I took the time to go to the Corvette form home page, I was pleasantly surprised to find a rich and comprehensive source of information.

The Corvette hobby is huge because it covers a 57-year line of cars across six different generations. A quick search on the internet will reveal that there are tons of Vette forums, some better than others. Some will have threads that converge across all six generations. Then once you’re on your preferred forum, browse and review the topics. Each forum is unique, so take some time to peruse the links, controls, and drop-down boxes. It’s like wandering through a big box, a home improvement store. It’s a bit overwhelming at first, but it doesn’t take long and you know where to find that heavenly hook you’re looking for.

Sometimes I’m just in the mood to look at photos of Corvette. And what would a high-testosterone track like Corvettes be without a Corvette Girls collection? BORING! Corvette Forum, such as SmokinVette.com. It’s fun, entertaining, educational, and a way to meet like-minded people who “get” the Corvette obsession. Nuff said!

– KST