In 1996, after successful forays into radio and television, Gilinda Rogers settled an entrepreneurial eye on another venue, the Internet. Early enough, it turns out, to bag www.TheBestofUSA.com, as well as similar, city-specific domains in major markets across the nation.

Top-level monikers, such as BestofNYC.com, BestofAtlanta.com and BestinLasVegas.com, frame a network of sites displaying self-updating voter surveys, hard local data and paid advertising.

Rogers has a proven knack for targeting and pursuing new media ventures. In the early 90's, in her home market of Williamsburg, Virginia, she was struck by what she saw as a dearth in local news. Soon after, WPTG Radio would rise in the ratings and her brainchild TV launch, First News, hit the market. It was for the television station that, in February of 1996, she secured her first domain, LocalNews.org.

April of the same year, Rogers was to grab BestofWilliamsburg.com. This would cornerstone the current, national venture. Today, of the more than 800 domain names she holds as journalist and Web site developer, more than 230 are of the best-of and best-in variety.

The sites integrate interactive user input and local information to serve as an always current, rated guide to the respective city. Fully automated form fields allow surfers to quickly and easily vote for the best-of across a wide range of businesses and organizations.

Besides the standard restaurant and nightclub entries, ballots cover everything from coffee bars, to movie theaters, sporting goods, music stores and dry cleaners. Locals can even select the best lawyer, doctor or plumber. Naturally, because visitors are not only voting, but also checking results, the site becomes a venue for local and national advertising.

"I see this as a useful, fun alternative to an indiscriminate search engine sorting results worldwide," Rogers explains. "If you live in Topeka and are, for instance, going out for Chinese with the husband and kids, why not see what were judged as the best Asian restaurants? Or, let's say, you're planning an addition to your home and don't have a clue as to reputable builders. You go to www.BestofTopeka.com, and there's a rated list of the best builders in town, as elected by your neighbors. With increasing hits and user input, the sites will grow as a self-sustaining reference resource. Naturally, potential for ad revenues will expand relative to that growth."

Gilinda considers marketing the most important aspect of a business, because if you can't sell it, there's no need to make it, manage staff, have an office, or hire an accountant.

Rogers, 42, was born and raised in Williamsburg, Virginia. She resided with her husband and two young daughters near Silicon Valley in California, before settling into the evolving high tech industry of island life in Hawaii and then retiring in 2005 to a farm in Timberville, Virginia.

E-mail me@gilinda.com.

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Fax number: 717-754-5903

Or you can contact me on ICQ (8003709).