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When the Loudoun County Democratic Committee wanted to launch a magazine for members this year, party leaders figured it made little sense to call their local printer. As a tiny organization in one of the region's smallest suburban counties, the committee knew it couldn't scrounge up enough subscribers to meet expenses.
So the group turned to the Internet.
Joining a virtual stampede by Washington area residents to stake claims in cyberspace, the Loudoun Democrats spent several late nights creating a home page on the graphically oriented World Wide Web. Even though only a handful of county residents visit it each week, the page has regular updates on local political happenings, connections to national Democratic Web sites, fancy graphics and a live—but generally silent—"chat room."
Across the region, residents, community groups, governments and entrepreneurs increasingly are using the Web, a global computer network, as a tool to reach people in their own back yards. Local Web services vary widely, from bowling league statistics and a photo gallery of adoptable pets to "E-mail the County Executive" pages in Montgomery and Howard counties. One enterprising Alexandria man even launched a guide to local sex services called "Decadent City Online."
By the end of May, there were more than 500 Web sites geared specifically to Washington area residents, according to a Washington Post survey based on several Internet search tools. The survey turned up thousands of other Web sites based in the area that are aimed at national and global audiences.
The study showed that local governments in every county and city in the region have launched or started work on official Web sites. Commercial businesses have created more than a dozen community guides with such names as WebColumbia and Prince William County Web, offering information about local shopping, entertainment and civic activities. Other Web sites are run by local nonprofit groups, schools, recreational clubs, entertainment venues, sports teams, restaurants and small businesses, all targeted at Washington area residents.
"We didn't produce this page to impress some guy from Idaho," said David Whitmer, an Ashburn resident who designed the Loudoun Democrats' Web site. "We did it so people in Loudoun County would see us and see what we're up to."
Much has been written about the Web's global reach and relatively low cost of publishing, which has triggered an explosion of Web construction in the last year by large companies and organizations seeking a worldwide audience. Less attention has focused on how local groups are using the same vast network to touch neighbors.
"On the whole, people are becoming more interested in local communication," said Paul A.M. Baker, a research fellow at George Mason University who studies community-based computer networks.
"When you first start playing with the Internet, the fact [that] you can reach out and touch a computer in Finland is amazing, but after three or four times, the novelty wears off.‚.‚.‚. It's things like having the local library and your child's school go on-line that are the big draw."
The Washington area is home to one of the largest—and fastest-growing—clusters of Web sites in the world, Internet analysts said. The area had 12,861 domain names, or addresses, on the Internet as of last week, an increase of almost 100 percent over six months, according to Imperative!, a Pittsburgh Internet consulting company.
The District alone had almost 2,500 registered domain names by mid-June, ranking it ninth in the nation among cities. New York and San Francisco were the top two.
The burst of local Web-building mirrors the relatively high proportion of people in the Washington area who are on-line. About 13 percent of area residents have access to the Web at work or at home, compared with an estimated 5 percent who have such access nationally, according to a study conducted in November by Significance Research, a firm that studies Internet usage.
Still, with barely one in 10 local residents traveling the Web, who is visiting the local sites? Hardly anyone, according to many of the people who manage the sites. The Loudoun Democrats are typical, with fewer than 3,000 guests this year, although they said the page has recruited 10 new party members. In Howard County, the visitor counter on the Board of Elections page displayed a scant 24 users from March to May.
Such statistics haven't discouraged local Web page designers, who are focused on predictions that the number of people wired to the Internet worldwide will grow from nearly 10 million now to about 150 million by 2000.
"Sure, we wish we more people would pull up our page," Whitmer said. "But we realize that we're not targeting a huge audience."
A personal home page requires only a few hours of programming and the monthly cost of an Internet connection, which can be as little as $15. Government and corporate sites, by contrast, can involve hundreds of pages and cost thousands of dollars a year.
Local sites range from the amazingly useful and amusing to the thoroughly banal. Some have sound, video and sophisticated graphics. Others allow users to troll through government databases or watch videotapes of traffic on the Capital Beltway.
Because "hypertext" links allow users to move among Web sites by clicking on underlined text with a mouse, it's relatively easy to tour Washington area sites. Travelers might start at Maryland's splashy Electronic Capital, where they can view photos of the state's 10 most-wanted child-support offenders or compare rates for automobile and homeowners' insurance. Clicking on a series of links might lead to the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, where an electronic playbill lists the summer performers, or to Chevy Chase Cars, where visitors can search the dealership's used-car inventory and obtain price quotes via e-mail.
Some of the most impressive local sites are built by individuals. Arlington resident Tom Howder, for example, has created a page with hundreds of maps of the Washington area—everything from satellite images to seating charts and historical renderings of government facilities, stadiums and airports.
Despite the myriad local sites, Internet experts say the Washington area is still a long way from having a "virtual" community where residents can pay taxes, participate in public meetings or order pizza on-line. Although some sites are interactive, offering message boards and electronic feedback, most are simply one-way roads off the information superhighway leading to reams of information.
"There's a lot of boring stuff out there," said Daniel C. Galloway Jr., who directs the Virginia government Web site and has been encouraging state agency heads to provide more interactive services. "If we don't keep things fresh and exciting, we'll lose our audience."
Galloway and others said the biggest reason that few businesses and government agencies allow people to pay bills or buy products on-line is that Internet communications still are not considered secure. But experts predict software advances—and the distribution of better programs—in the next few years will allow people to feel comfortable that thieves won't intercept credit card or other payment information transmitted over the Web.
For now, government officials and entrepreneurs are building Web service in the belief that it will pay off when the audience grows and the technology glitches are eased.
"We think it will lead to less calls and requests for information," said Nanette Butterworth, the coordinator of the state-run Maryland's Electronic Capital. "We're hoping it will save us money down the line."
What follows is a selective guide to Washington Web sites, spotlighting interesting or typical sites in popular categories. The list was compiled based on hundreds of hours spent clicking on Web links and entering names such as "Prince William" and "Maryland" into commercial search engines, which are computer programs that automatically scan millions of Web pages. The guide does not include all local Web sites or attempt to rank them in any way. All Web addresses listed should be preceded by the standard http:// prefix.
Nonprofit and Advocacy Groups
The Web may be only three years old, but it's already going to the dogs—and cats and even a few rabbits.
More than a dozen local animal shelters and rescue groups have posted pages with photographs of adoptable pets. It's hard to resist the hopeful mugs of Frizzie, Tyler, Jordan and Chance, four homeless dogs recently displayed on the Washington Metropolitan Area Dog Adoptions Page.
"The Web offers the best opportunity to communicate this kind of information," said Stacey Curtis, a software developer who created the site to help three Northern Virginia adoption organizations. "Using photos gives people an opportunity to fall in love with the pet."
Curtis said that at least 1,300 people have visited the site since December and that more than 30 dogs have been placed with people who initially saw them on the Internet.
Other community groups use home pages to stay in touch with members, solicit volunteers and announce coming events. Designed by Web-savvy volunteers or fledgling Internet firms that want increased visibility in a competitive new market, public-interest sites have emerged as an easy way to promote causes without the hassle of stuffing envelopes and paying for postage.
The Annapolis-based Chesapeake Bay Trust posted 10 steps people can take to help the bay; applications forms for grants the trust administers; and links to other conservation-related sites. The Potomac Conservancy runs a C&O Canal restoration page with a volunteer calendar and color maps of the waterway. And for those looking to help, two local volunteer organizations, Greater D.C. Cares and Washington Needs You, provide listings of openings and on-line application forms.
People are creating local Web guides to community resources on almost every conceivable topic. Angela Connelly's DC Parents Page offers information about day care, summer camp and youth counseling resources. Jame's Guide to Gay Washington lists gay nightclubs, bookstores and home pages of local gay people. The Viet-DC Page features a calendar of events in the Vietnamese community and links to other Southeast Asian cultural groups.
Religious groups also are rushing to get on the Web. The Washington DC Jewish Web pages offer a colorful, clickable map to locate area synagogues to kosher restaurants, markets and bakeries. Members of Judaism's Lubavitcher sect have created their own site with a list of times to light sabbath candles and an "Ask the Rabbi" page.
In Germantown, the Neelsville Presbyterian Church offers an on-line trivia test and a call for feedback via e-mail. Pastor Gary L. Hanson invites local Web surfers to visit any Sunday and tell him that "you read about [the church] on the 'Net."
C&O Canal Restoration Project
Chabad Lubavitch of Maryland
Chesapeake Bay Trust
D.C. ParentsPage
Greater D.C. Cares
Jame's Guide to Gay Washington
Neelsville Presbyterian Church Home Page
Montgomery County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Viet-DC Page
Washington DC Jewish Web Pages
Washington Metropolitan Area Dog Adoptions
Washington Needs You
Arts and Entertainment
Richard Gist has a lot of opinions about local theater—and he's not shy about sharing them.
From "Fool for Love" at the Washington Shakespeare Company to "My Fair Lady" at Toby's Dinner Theater in Columbia, Gist, a Towson State University professor, has written and posted reviews of 39 local productions on his Balto-Wash Theatre Page.
Although many theater pages simply contain connections to other dramatic sites and show schedules, Gist's page is one of the few with original content—the opinions of a lifelong theater lover and sometime actor, playwright and director.
Entertainment venues are filling the Web with summer event schedules, seating plans, ticket information and performer biographies—virtually everything but on-line ticket sales. Sites offering electronic playbills include Wolf Trap, Ford's Theatre, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Nissan Pavilion, the Capital Ballroom and the Kennedy Center.
Creativity blooms at some local arts pages. DC Music WWWeb mixes coupons for free drinks and e-mail contacts with links to local music groups, bands and clubs. The 9:30 Club uses animation, audio clips and a sophisticated design to present bands, schedules and ticket information. Local Music Online is another cool-looking spot with ticket giveaways, a message board and an interactive top 10 bands list. You'll find no frills at the DC Blues Society page, just useful information for local blues fans.
The Web is bringing visual artists on-line, too. Ken Oda, publisher of a local arts newsletter, started the ArtWOW site, providing inexpensive space for local artists to display their work in a virtual gallery. Currently, the site is promoting the Art96 show—a biennial event that showcases the best of the Washington area's art—with on-line samples of works that can be seen at participating museums and galleries through July 27.
"The goal is to provide a service to the artists," Oda said. "We're not trying to get rich on this, and we're not."
Forget about closing times on the Web. Midnight tours are available at the Smithsonian site, including a virtual Festival of American Folklife. The National Gallery's Vermeer exhibit is still open on-line, too.
For comedy, visit the Capitol Steps page with sounds from the Washington-based group of congressional staffers turned songwriters. The group has posted information about forthcoming shows and clips from their greatest hits, such as "Stand By Your Dan [Quayle]."
ArtWOW
Balto-Wash Theatre Page
Capital Ballroom
Capitol Steps
DC Blues Society
DC Music WWWeb
Ford's Theatre
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Local Music Online
Merriweather Post Pavilion
Nightclub 9:30
Nissan Pavilion
Smithsonian Institution
Wolf Trap
Commerce
Although legions of area businesses have launched Web sites in the last year, only a handful provide lively and informative pages. Many still are getting off the ground, such as the used-car and classified-ad pages that each have fewer than a dozen listings.
Two worth visiting are the Motorcade Shopping Directory, which allows users to view a list of stores and restaurants along the roads they travel most often, and the Valentino of Georgetown bridal shop page, which has photographs of models wearing its designs and allows visitors to inquire about prices by e-mail.
Potomac Mills Mall, in Dale City, has a store directory, a map of the sprawling shopping complex and links to nearby hotels.
Although most business sites don't allow on-line purchases, a Falls Church art gallery (The Electric Gallery) and a Maryland crab distributor (Da Crab Page, Hon) will gladly begin sales on-line and confirm credit-card numbers over the telephone. The Electric Gallery, one of the most sophisticated local Web sites, offers pictures of almost 1,000 paintings that visitors can browse through and eventually order.
Those looking to move may want to visit the New Homes Guide and the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors site, which allow users to search listings of homes for sale. Older folks may want to check out the Retirement Living Guide Online, a local directory of senior living and nursing care services that includes a Wednesday night live "chat room" for caregivers, the elderly and concerned children.
"It's available when it's 2 o'clock in the morning and you're worried and can't sleep," said Cheryl Johnson, a social worker who designed the site.
Chevy Chase Cars
Da Crab Page
Retirement Living Guide
The Electric Gallery
Motorcade Shopping Directory
New Homes Guide
Northern Virginia Association of Realtors
Potomac Mills Mall
The Oliver North Home Page
Valentino of Georgetown: Bridal and Formal Shop
News Media and Information
Washington's largest local news site is WashingtonPost.com, which debuted last week with thousands of pages of news from every state and more than 200 countries, along with interactive chat areas and searchable databases. A free service initially, the advertising-supported site has a section called Washington World devoted to life in the area. It features an electronic movie calendar, detailed crime reports, neighborhood profiles and regular stories about forthcoming community events in the District and 10 suburban counties.
Other local newspapers with regularly updated Web sites include the Washington Times, the suburban Journals and the Annapolis Capital. Defense-related news and databases can be found on Military City Online, the Web outpost for the Army Times Publishing Co.
Washington's ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS television affiliates all have Web sites, too. Among the most heavily used is WRC-TV's Washington Weather Report, which has a four-day forecast, radar maps of the region and audio clips from meteorologist Bob Ryan.
On the radio front, the fanciest page belongs to Oliver L. North, the talk-show host and former U.S. Senate candidate. Fans can e-mail questions to be answered on-air, view a multimedia presentation on North's life and connect to his favorite Web sites, including those run by the National Rifle Association and the Christian Coalition.
ONE is among the new breed of "e-zines" that appear exclusively on the Web. Targeted at younger African Americans, the flashy, District-based publication offers the works of black writers, thinkers and photographers and a forum for discussion of cultural issues.
Capital Online
Journal Online
Military City Online
NBC TV-4
ONE
The Oliver North Home Page
WashingtonPost.com
WUSA Television Server Home Page
WETA Home Page
WJLA-TV
Staff writer Dan Beyers contributed to this report
There's more! Read the rest of the Washington Web Guide.