Happy Birthday, Internet and GE Reports!

October 29, 2009

We’ve been so busy telling you stories about GE that we almost forgot to celebrate GE Reports’ one-year anniversary. And what better day to do that, than today – the 40th birthday of the Internet!

GE Reports officially turned 1 last week, Thursday, October 22nd to be exact. Here’s the thing: we didn’t really want to start a blog last year, but we decided to give it a shot, determined to make it better than your average corporate blog. So much so that we like to think of GER more as a service for our readers. Check out all the cool ways you can get our news today.

 

Gallery guide: To magnify or reduce an image, either click on it or roll your mouse wheel. Click here to learn more about each of these.

I talked to the folks who make GEreports.com go every day, and here’s how they think about our site. Straight from my IM ambush:

Managing Editor Sean Gannon:
I guess when I think of GE Reports, what strikes me is the site’s “pragmatic optimism.” It’s upbeat, but not in a rah-rah corporate way. There’s real facts, real equipment, real hunks of metal, real labs that all have this incredible forward motion. So, they’re fun stories to tell and the feel-good vibe from the people who make all of these ‘things’ is infectious. At least it is to me, and I hope it is for our readers.

Reporter-at-Large Vivek Kemp:
For me GE Reports is an excuse. It’s an excuse to learn from the inquisitive and imaginative people who circle the GE universe. From local business owners, benefitting from GE Capital, to the brilliant minds at the corporation’s research and development facilities, there is a wealth of human knowledge and experience. GE Reports gives me a passport – an excuse – to go into those worlds and explore.

Twitter and Digital Enthusiast Megan Parker:
GE reports is just plain fun — great stories about inspiring GE folks from around the world and a wonderful group of GE reporters to work with!

Storyteller and PR Expert Lisa Lanspery:
GE Reports helps humanize the stories we want to tell at GE… discussing topics that range from trends in policy, environment, health and innovation.

Tech Kung-Fu Master Mike Eisenreich:
GEreports.com has been an exciting area for us to introduce some new technologies, all with a single focus – giving our readers the ability to “have it their way” – meaning the great stories being told daily are available in a variety of ways – and we are constantly looking for ways to improve and expand how we do that.

Digital Ad Man and GER’s First Editor Ed Downing:
GEreports.com is a cross between Hemingway, Carrot Top and Thomas Edison… if they all had 1 blog of course.

You may not know this, but GE has a pretty cool Internet history of its own. Registered on August 5, 1986, GE.com became the 20th registered domain. That has to qualify us as an Internet landmark. Mike pointed out that there are currently 112,698,044 active domains, and 372,887,165 domains have been deleted over time. So, 20th out of 485,585,209 is sweet.

GE launched on the Web back in 1994 with GE Plastics.

Two years later, we launched GE.com.

In 1996, GE launched GENet, the company’s first intranet. Then, in 1999, GENet was replaced with the first edition of insideGE. Earlier this year, iGE was retooled and relaunched for 300,000 employees worldwide.

As for me, my name is Jen Walsh, and I remember writing the first few stories for GEreports.com last October. Thankfully, GER is now a great team effort with dozens of contributors around the world and expert content, design and technology leadership on staff.

Let us know how GER can be of better service to you. We’re thinking of a survey in the near-term, but open to your suggestions now.


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  • Pat

    Happy B-Day GE Report!!!!

    Hmmm, 1994. I think that was a popular year for the Blink Tag.

  • Longterm Investor

    Why dont you put up a history of some of GE’s contribution to computers. There is plenty of interesting stuff.

  • Gheorghe Curelet-Balan

    Happy anniversary GE Reports!

  • JD

    Another GE birthday… GE Aviation’s – oldest 747 in US operation – celebrated its 40th birthday yesterday http://bit.ly/1QV757

  • GE reports great contributions

    Salute to all staffs for their great contributions and dedications to promote and bring the good Reports to life…
    Appreciated…
    Keep on…

  • monique

    If you are interested in GE history, GE has a great mini site – the GE Innovation Timeline:

    http://www.ge.com/innovation/timeline/index.html

  • Jen Walsh

    Thank you well-wishers and Longterm Investor. Jen Walsh here from GE’s digital media team. I was flipping through the Innovation Timeline that Monique pointed to, and you’re right, GE has indeed been doing interesting things in the computer industry, including our work in fiber optics and computed tomography, which today is letting us take high-def CT images of patients.

    On a related note, I had a chance to visit with people from the National Library of Medicine last week. Executive Director Dr. Don Lindberg recalled that it was GE consultants who recommended the Library convert all of its literature to electronic formats in the late 1980s. The task was accomplished in 4 years, and they’ve been digital ever since then. Not bad considering it’s the world’s largest medical library.

  • Britta Barrett

    Congratulations to you all! I can’t believe it’s been a year. You all have been integral in helping to tell the GE story from across the businesses. So from me to you, thank you.

  • GE

    Can we receive updates on GE Capital? Instead of little toys for Immelt to play with 24/7?