(after
the historical name for Goa). The basic objective of
this venture was to bring the fruits of IT to the
masses and use it to bring about a positive change
amongst the lives of thousands of people, especially
for the underprivileged.

An IT newspaper or magazine for Goa was just one idea
amongst the many which the company aimed at. There were
some innovative ideas to capitalize on the potential
thrown up by the Internet, and particularly by e-mail,
for the benefit of the common men. The paper got
priority over other things simply because there was a
need to create awareness amongst the masses.

There were a number of efforts underway in Goa in the
area of IT by the government, industry, NGOs and the
like . But there was a lack of co-ordination and hardly
anybody knew what was going on in the other camp.
Opportunity came calling, indicating that there was an
urgent need to create a common forum for the discussion
of IT-related issues and cost effective solutions.

This was priority Number One. Thus Goa's first IT
fortnightly was born in the beginning of the year 2002.
It was appropriately named Digital Goa, to encompass
not only computer specific issues but the whole gamut
of information technology even beyond computers.

Initially, this idea evoked a cautious response from
both media stalwarts and IT professionals, some of whom
even outright dismissed the idea as non-workable. Two
individuals were exceptions to this rule, and they
jumped onto the idea and have been a constant
motivating factor all throughout i.e. GCCI President
and D-Link General Manager Nitin Kunkolienkar and our
own colleague Frederick Noronha.

One was aware of the average Goan's apathy towards
reading, leaving aside few daily newspapers. This
explains the fact that no periodical worth its name,
and with a widespread readership, could be established
in Goa, despite factors like Goa's high literacy, and
relatively higher affluence levels. In the past one
decade, a number of family-oriented and political
magazines have hit the stands, only to disappear
without making their mark. Those existing are
struggling for their survival or are backed by big
corporate houses. Then there was a new trend of
free-sheeters that gripped Goa for a while. That too is
seems to be slowly fading away.

On this backdrop, it was really a risky attempt to
start a specialized magazine, leave alone the general
magazine. Number one, there was no corporate