15 Seconds began as a production of Sign Me Up Marketing (now XCache Technologies) and was acquired by internet.com in the winter of 1998. It is now part of internet.com's Windows Internet Technology channel.
Originally 15 Seconds was a twice-monthly online publication written for Internet developers and content providers about IIS, ISAPI and Active Server. With the partnership of Stephen Genusa's FAQ, and the purchase of Active Server Page and ISAPI List Server from Microsoft, the 15 Seconds Web site became a complete resource for developers designing Internet Solutions with Microsoft Internet technologies.
Started in December of 1996 with the first issue of 15 Seconds, ODBC 3.0 Connection Pooling, the Web site quickly grew in popularity. The reason for the Web site's success was the fact that 15 Seconds focuses on solutions, high technical content, and accessibility. The main charter of the publication is to publish articles that teach developers how to create Internet solutions, instead of teaching them how to use tools. The 15 Seconds publication has always focused on advanced technique content, leaving others to cover the introductory solutions. Article and tutorials are written and contributed by some of the most knowledgeable and well-known developers and programmers in the industry.
A free online format and a quick time to market makes 15 Seconds highly accessible. Today, each publication draws in more and more developers craving the most advanced technical knowledge about Microsoft Internet development technologies.
Even before the partnership with the 15 Seconds publication, Stephen Genusa had began gleaning the IIS and ISAPI list server for the most frequently asked questions. He created a separate Web site where developers had access to the questions and their answers. Stephen's Web site quickly grew in popularity amongst developers that were programming in these technologies. With the advent of Active Server pages, Stephen's site expanded yet again to include FAQ from the Active Server Page list server. In March of 1997, Stephen allowed 15 Seconds to create 15 Second's presentation of Stephen Genusa FAQ. The FAQ database was taken and loaded into a dynamic content engine that allowed the FAQ to be cross-referenced and searched.
After 15 Seconds added Stephen Genusa's FAQs, book reviews and how-to articles followed. Because of the large number of computer programming books available, the average developer has a hard time finding a quality book on the subject of interest. For developers interested in Active Server pages, IIS, and ISAPI, 15 Seconds has reviewed many of the books on the market. In addition, 15 Seconds provides How-To articles which are supplements to the FAQ and feature tutorials. Usually shorter in length than a full-sized article, the How-To articles demonstrate development tricks.
15 Seconds also has a Consultant Program where consultants can register and be displayed on the 15 Second Web site. This program has been very popular and currently has over 100 registered consultants.
The 15Seconds Internet technology mailing lists, the same list server that the FAQs where generated from, were created to support the introduction of various technologies until they matured sufficiently to be turned over to other groups for long-term support. As part of that plan, 15 Seconds took over the Active Server Pages and ISAPI mailing lists on September 1, 1997. Today, with over 3000 active members and 9 discussion lists, the list server is a valuable asset to the 15 Second Web site and an important channel for developers to exchange ideas.
Two of the newest features on 15 Seconds is the component library and Active News. The component library lists and describes hundreds of free and fee-based components that developers can use to enhance the quality and functionality of their applications. Active News provides summaries of daily Microsoft Internet development technology news and events.
15 Seconds is the longest amount of time that the average user will wait for a Web page to return. Named after this statistic (which as of 2001 is more like 8 seconds), 15 Seconds has a major interest in Internet performance. Each issue of the 15 Seconds publication either recommends or demonstrates performance-enhancing tips for the subject of that issue.
Besides the content that makes 15 Seconds a mecca for Microsoft Internet developers, 15 Seconds is a dynamic driven Web site. Using the technologies that developers come to the site to research, 15 Seconds has created a content engine that stores the FAQ, Issues, How To articles, Consultants, book reviews, vendors, component library, and Active News summaries that make up 15 Seconds. 15 Seconds is designed to cross-reference topics so developers can find out more information within the topic that they are interested in.
