From Dial-up to Viral-up: The History of the First Ever Website About Bangladesh
Introduction
Thirty years ago, the WWW was released into the public domain and changed the world as we know it. Did you know that it was also thirty years ago that I had the privilege of creating the first-ever website about Bangladesh?
It was in April of 1983 that Tim Berners-Lee, the “Father of the Web,” successfully persuaded CERN to make the World Wide Web available to the public. He had earlier created the web in 1989 while working at CERN in Switzerland.
This act triggered a global wave of innovation and change that, some say, has had a greater impact on humanity than the industrial revolution or electricity.
The release of the first open-source web server and browser by Marc Andreessen and his team at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in September 1993 closely followed this seismic shift.
The Genesis
I was then a Ph.D. student in artificial intelligence at the University of Delaware. I spent many of my waking (and sleeping) hours at the Applied Science and Engineering Labs at the AI DuPont Institute, where we focused on building AI applications for people with disabilities. A group of us at the labs quickly got enamored of the new web technology and had our first server up and running by the late fall of 1993.
The internet was barely a blip on Bangladesh’s radar at the time. News from home arrived in the form of costly phone calls and a smattering of information shared on the Usenet newsgroup soc.culture.bangladesh. I started creating the first Bangladesh home pages because I was tired of answering questions like “Where in India is Bangladesh?” and because I needed to work late in the lab.
That is what inspired me to create the first web page about Bangladesh. Yes, it was only one page. What started as a single webpage rapidly expanded into something much larger. It began as “Bangladesh, the land of the Royal Bengal”, then transitioned to “The Bangladesh Home Pages,” before rebranding to “Virtual Bangladesh” in its permanent home.
Even today, it remains live as the first-ever website about Bangladesh, celebrated in the 1990s and early 2000s as the top-ranked site about Bangladesh. It even found mention in a book, “The World Wide Web Top 1000.”
The Journey
As I worked on my dissertation, I was spending ever longer hours in the lab. Often, I started in the morning and did not leave till the early hours of the next morning. In between instructing my robot, I fired up VI and added more and more content to Virtual Bangladesh.
Over the years, Virtual Bangladesh has evolved into a vast digital encyclopedia of Bangladesh with hundreds of pages of diverse content.
The section dedicated to Bangladesh’s struggle for independence and birth as a free nation gives me a feeling of pride. I relished the opportunity to highlight our nation’s strength, determination, and courage on its path to independence. The content is a testament to our past, providing visitors with a deep insight into the sacrifices and triumphs celebrated in the formation of modern Bangladesh.
Visitors exploring Virtual Bangladesh’s digital streets and bylanes will come across a treasure trove of diverse content. Tucked within its pages are Bengali lessons, allowing one to explore the nuances of our rich language. A multimedia tour will take you on a virtual journey across Bangladesh, immersing you in the country’s rhythm and vibrancy. On another path, you will find a guidebook that provides insights into our top attractions, cultural idiosyncrasies, and invaluable travel advice for those planning a physical voyage to our homeland.
Accolades
In its prime, from the 1990s to the mid-2000s, Virtual Bangladesh was the highest-ranked site about Bangladesh on Google for nearly two decades. Virtual Bangladesh’s impact is reflected in the numerous awards it has received over the years. In 2001, Britannica.com named it one of the best websites on the internet. In 2000, Schoolzone awarded the website a 4-star rating from its panel of expert teachers. As early as 1996, Virtual Bangladesh was listed in the World Wide Web Yellow Pages. These are just a few of the many awards the site has received.
Media coverage expanded Virtual Bangladesh’s reach and reputation even further. Notable appearances include Ishtyle TV, BBC Children’s Sub Zero, and a coveted spot on the BBC’s Best of the Web guide.
These enabled us to reach new audiences and introduce them to Bangladesh’s rich culture, history, and traditions.
Epilogue
However, as the 2000s progressed, Bangladesh’s internet connectivity improved, and the country’s online presence expanded. My personal life evolved alongside these changes, and the time I had to devote to the website shrank. The site hasn’t had the TLC it needs, and now it remains frozen in time, more like a museum piece. A testament to Bangladesh’s early days on the World Wide Web
While its heyday has passed, Virtual Bangladesh holds a special place in Bangladesh’s digital history. This website served as a vital link between Bangladesh and the rest of the world at a time when information about Bangladesh was scarce. The legacy of Virtual Bangladesh is more than the awards and rankings it has received; it is the impact it has had on thousands of people who have used it to explore and understand Bangladesh. It was and continues to be a labor of love — a celebration of my home with the rest of the world.
Random Feedback from 1993/1994
Have a look at some of the earliest feedback from when the web was still a novelty.
I don’t know how to thank you for creating such a wonderful site on Bangladesh on the WWW. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance. The pages in the mosaic look just awesome, and I am really proud to see those on the WWW. I have recommended many of my friends look over your site in order to gain knowledge about our motherland. Please continue to work on this. Thank you so much.
This morning I saw the hypertext about Bangladesh on the WWW (mosaic), which was really nice. Thank you for the good job.
I recently stumbled onto your section on the World Virtual Tourist while searching through genealogy. I’m new to the internet but am having a wonderful time exploring.
Thanks for the information you put on the mosaic. It is really nice to see those graphics on the screen. It really takes me back to that time.
Good work on the home-page
I have visited your home page quite a few times, and it is a nice addition to the web.
I just navigated through your wonderful WWW Bangladesh Home Pages; congratulations for all the effort you must have put in to create these!
Since I came from Bangladesh, I was scared to use this Internet thing .. well after browsing through the Bangladesh page in mosaic I realised what I was missing .. … I would just like to thank you for a job well done …
Assalamu alaikum! ami babu.japan theke. xmosaic e apnar kontho shunlam!great!Bangladesh shomorkito information gulu dekhe anondo legeche.
I really enjoyed browsing through your WWW page on Bangladesh. It is very informative and pleasant at the same time.
You have done a great job putting this web site together. Let me know if I can help you in any way.
First of all, let me convey my million thanks to all of you for putting together such nice home pages about Bangadesh (Sonar). I think you all are doing a wonderful job. Keep it up.
I enjoyed locating your Web page and will definitely refer to it again in the future.
I was just told by one of my colleagues about the Bangladesh page. I checked it out and wanted to tell you that it looks great! You have done a great job. I was also very impressed that you took the initiative to do this.
An excellent page. Although I have never been to Bangladesh, my parents are from Khulna, and I have heard a lot about your country from them. Now I have a chance to see it from your perspective.
Hello, I saw your website on Bangladesh. It is great.
Thank you very much for the time and effort you put into this whole thing. If there is anything I can do, please let me know.
Great Job! Very impressive. It was quite soothing to see some familiar topics. Please keep up the good work.
I enjoyed your Bangladesh page.
Acknowledgments
My wife, Tammy Black, deserves special recognition not only for her unwavering support but also for much of the creative graphics that adorned the site.
I’d like to thank my ASEL colleagues and friends who set up the server or were part of our web group: Ted Walsky, Randy Glass, Matthew Beitler, Lee Leiber, and others.
I can’t write about the early days of the web and Bangladesh without mentioning three other pioneers who also created Bangladesh-related websites.
- Ishtiaq Ahmed, who was then at the University of Pittsburgh
- Saif Ahmed, who was then at Oberlin College
- Zeeshan Khan, who was then at MIT
