Local company pioneered Internet access

• Local officials, former CompuServe employees and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted gathered for a Dec. 21 marker dedication ceremony honoring 50 years since the headquarters' opening.

Flashback: CompuServe was founded here in 1969 and later earned worldwide renown as the first major online information services provider.

• "Its subscribers were the first to have access to email, online newspapers and magazines, the ability to share and download files, and a variety of popular chat forums," the marker reads.

What they're saying: Husted recalled living with a college roommate in the early 1990s who was a "CompuServe evangelist."

• "(CompuServe) was so foundational to the world that we live in today and it happened right here."

The intrigue: CompuServe is also famous for inventing the "graphics interchange format," better known as GIF, back in 1987.

• If you're still wondering how to pronounce it, company co-founder and CEO Jeff Wilkins offered the definitive answer at the ceremony: It's JIF, like the peanut butter.

The bottom line: The next time you share a meme of Guy Fieri, watch an Alexis Nikole Nelson video or read the Axios Columbus newsletter, tip your hat to our very own internet trailblazers.

4️⃣0️⃣ down, 88 to go.

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