Waterloo Spins into the Web continued...

Anyone who wants to access the information on the web site can now do so, as long as they have computer access to the World Wide Web, by simply typing in the site's 'url' address, www.oceta.on.ca/city.waterloo. The city's web site contains approximately 40 - 60 basic pages of information about the city.

The chief executive officer of Waterloo's The Reid Group, Dan Reid, said in an interview the city and some University of Waterloo professors came to his company late last spring to see if the company could create a web site for the city.

"We looked at it as being a prime opportunity to promote the city on a global basis," said Waterloo director of information systems, Garry Bezruki.

"From an economic standpoint, we wanted to tell people what Waterloo has to offer so that if some business is looking to relocate, they've got the information at their fingertips."

Reid said his company began to prepare the web site for the city in June 1995. It took the company a fair amount of time to prepare the site, first, because it had to define the audience the site would be aimed at, second, because a lot of research and information gathering was necessary, and third, it needed to present the information on the web site in an appealing way.

"One of our goals was to make it warm and inviting," Reid said. "And we think it is those things. We think it's graphically appealing, but also content rich."

The Reid Group's new media producer, Mike Powell, said one of the best ways to access information on the city's web site is to turn to the actual site map. There people can gain information about the city by clicking on four main areas - City Info, Business Info, Leisure and Technology.

Anything that is underlined on the web site can be clicked on in order to gain access.

Under City Info, people can gain information on such things as recreation facilities, taxation and can even access a business directory, made up of companies who have asked to be placed there.

Business Info contains information on City of Waterloo demographics, the location of city-owned land and again contains a business directory. Leisure provides information on such things as fixed attractions in the area and accommodations, while Technology provides people with specific information about what types of industry and technological research are currently going on in Waterloo.

At the site map, people can also 'sign' the city's Guest Book, can gain access to information about other cities in Ontario by clicking on the City Links heading and can also hear actual audio clips from famous people talking about Waterloo under the Waterloo Talk heading.

For example, under that heading, people can click on the head of Microsoft Corporation's chief executive officer, Bill Gates, and he will tell you how he hires more graduates from the University of Waterloo than from any other university.

But Reid said another very important feature about the web site is that is can both provide and receive information.

If a person wants to gain more information about a certain aspect of the city, he/she can click on a specific ward on a city map and send an 'e-mail' message to that ward councillor. Or he/she can click on the underlined name of an accompanying city official and do the same thing.

"You can e-mail (Mayor) Brian Turnbull," Reid said. "So if you're in Germany and you want some information, you can get it."

Although the web site was originally developed to promote Waterloo abroad, Reid said it definitely has advantages for local people too. If local people want to gain a better understanding of such things as the city's tax structure, they can get that on the web site.

As for what the web site may look like in the future, that depends on the city, Reid said. It's a living document that the city perhaps may update every one to two weeks, he said.