[Jeff]

I've been online for years. I started using the CompuServe forums back in the '80s...before the Internet was something you used at home. Why CompuServe? Well, at the time the CompuServe forums were the best place (in some cases the ONLY place) to get online support directly from a software company.

Back in those days, I was using AutoCAD, and the AutoCAD forums were the absolute best place to share ideas, post questions and build community with other AutoCAD users.

In 1990, one of the friends I had met online was looking for someone who knew how to do 3D modeling in AutoCAD to help with an animation she was contracted to produce. This turned out to be the first of many projects I got directly through contacts I met online.

Today, I use IM to keep in touch with people I've worked with on a regular basis. Instant messaging has become an indispensable business tool!