First let’s take a look at some of the enhancements NewsDemon made to their Usenet service over the last year:

Increased binary retention from 175 days to over 515 days
- NewsDemon nearly tripled binary retention.  In January 2009 they were at 175 days.  Now they are over 515 days retention and continuing to grow daily.

Added a wide array of block accounts
- NewsDemon added a wide array of account offerings including block accounts.  For those not familiar with block accounts they allow you to purchase a set amount of downloads rather than pay a monthly fee for Usenet access.  NewsDemon offers several block accounts ranging from 10 GB up to 1 TB of downloads.

Black Friday / Cyber Monday special
- we partnered with NewsDemon to bring NGR visitors an opportunity to enjoy their Unlimited Plus plan for only $9.95 a month for life. The special ran from Black Friday through Cyber Monday 2009.

50% Off NewsDemon
- NewsDemon is currently offering NGR visitors 50% off your first two months of Unlimited Plus access. That means instead of paying $22.99 you pay $11.50 for the first two months.

Increase to support 107,000 newsgroups
- this year NewsDemon increased the number of newsgroups they support from 85,000 up to 107,000.

Usenet tester tool
- last summer NewsDemon released a Usenet tester which allows you to test and verify connectivity to news servers. This is especially useful in troubleshooting issues.

Launched a new website design
- in July NewsDemon launched a new site design.  Then in December they rolled out a nice looking holiday skin for the site.

In 2009 NewsDemon took a number of steps to promote Usenet awareness and the positive benefits of newsgroups.  The list of those contributions includes:

Free Usenet access for university staff, charities and media members
- NewsDemon does a lot of help promote Usenet including free NewsDemon accounts for university staff, charities and media members. They also offer free accounts for bloggers.

Discount offered to college students
- College students and educators are eligible for a 25% discount.

Usenet 30th anniversary celebration

- NewsDemon celebrated the 30th anniversary of Usenet in November with a $1 Usenet special, interviews with Tom Truscott and Brad Templeton, and by publishing the original Usenet announcement.

Interviews with Tom Truscott and Brad Templeton
- As part of the Usenet anniversary celebration NewsDemon interviewed Tom Truscott and Brad Templeton.  Tom Truscott helped found Usenet with Jim Elliss and others at Duke and UNC in 1979.  Brad Templeton created and moderated the very popular rec.humor.funny newsgroup.  In the years since Mr. Templeton founded ClariNet Communications and is chairman of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

Original Usenet announcement
- NewsDemon gained access to the original press release announcing Usenet.  This is the first time the Usenet memo by Tom Truscott has been posted on the Internet.

History of Usenet content added to site
- Earlier in the year NewsDemon added information covering the history of Usenet to help users learn more about how newsgroups got their start.

Newsgroup charter directory
- NewsDemon took on the effort of creating a charter directory to educate and inform users about specific newsgroups and their purpose

Frequent blog posts
- Find up to date events and their connections to Usenet in the NewsDemon blog.  They also do spotlight articles on specific topics of interest and their related newsgroups.

We congratulate NewsDemon on their accomplishments and look forward to their continued efforts in the years to come.  To learn more about the Usenet service read our NewsDemon review or visit newsdemon.com.

NewsDemon was on our list of Editors Choice selections in 2009 and an easy selection for 2010.  As mentioned yesterday the awards are given in recognition of the best Usenet providers based on factors including service level, performance, and value.  The providers bearing this title are thoroughly tested and evaluated by the NGR editors.  NewsDemon joins Giganews, Binverse, Astraweb and Newshosting as this year’s Editors Choice selections.

NewsDemon has set themselves apart through efforts to promote their service as well as the future growth of Usenet.  Like other top Usenet providers, NewsDemon underwent major change in 2009.  Doubling binary retention to 500 days, providing free Usenet access to various groups and offering deeply discounted access to everyone.

Here is a breakdown of the major changes NewsDemon made in 2009:

500+ Days of Binary Retention
- NewsDemon underwent a major retention update is 2009.  They are now at nearly 500 days of binary retention and growing daily.

Promote the Positive Growth of Usenet
- NewsDemon spent a lot of time and effort promoting Usenet in 2009.  Including celebrating the 30th anniversary of Usenet with interviews and the original message introducing Usenet.  Stay tuned for a follow up post in the coming weeks covering the benefits of NewsDemon’s efforts.

Free Usenet Access
- NewsDemon provides free Usenet accounts to a number of groups including college faculty and staff, charities, and members of the media.

NewsDemon 50% Discount
- NewsDemon is currently offering their Unlimited Plus ($22.95/mo.) premium plan to new customers for $10.95/mo. for life!  That’s better than 50% off regular price.

In conclusion NewsDemon has a lot to offer.  High retention, SSL encryption, 20 connections, servers in the US and Europe, a free newsreader and international payment options.  We have always enjoyed the quality of their service and high level of support and professionalism.  Stay tuned for more updates on NewsDemon’s 2009 efforts to promote Usenet and the year to come.

The original idea for Usenet was to allow communication between University Unix systems.  The estimated cost would be $15 a month to connect daily and transfer around 3,000 bytes of data via 300 baud modem.

Here is our favorite part of the Usenet annoucement.  It is from a “questions answered section at the end of the memo:

This is a sloppy proposal. Let’s start a committee.
No thanks! Yes, there are problems. Several amateurs collaborated on this plan. But let’s get started now. Once the net is in place, we can start a committee. And they will actually use the net, so they will know what the real problems are.

So many people want to plan, plan, plan but never act.  Luckily the guys at Duke moved forward with Usenet recognizing problems would be worked out as members joined and made use of the network.

The interview with Tom Truscott and Brad Templeton is quite interesting as well.  NewsDemon gathered questions from the Usenet community and the results made for a good interview.

Brad Templeton mentions in the interview that he feels like Usenet will fade into oblivion unless the network is completely redesigned for our current always-on Internet.

I’ve had the opportunity to get to know many of the key players in the Usenet industry.  There are some very sharp people behind the scenes.  Will they reinvent Usenet?  Will companies that compete for customers come together to improve the network for everyone?  Hopefully the answer to all these questions is “Yes” and the Usenet community will continue to grow for decades to come.  It would be a real pleasure to write a post for the “50th anniversary of Usenet in 2029″.

To learn more Usenet providers take a look at our newsgroup tutorial including more information on the history of Usenet.

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Here is the official press release from PRWEB:

NewsDemon.com Newsgroups Celebrates the Thirtieth Anniversary of USENET

NewsDemon.com Newsgroups provider teams with a founder of USENET to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of USENET. An interview with one of the creators and a prominent USENET pioneer to go along with never before released memos detailing the initial existence of USENET. To end the celebration NewsDemon Newsgroups offers unheard of discounts on USENET access.

…the first online social network…

Anderson, SC (PRWEB) November 10, 2009 — NewsDemon.com Newsgroups celebrates the Thirtieth Anniversary of USENET. It was thirty years ago this month that USENET debuted and quickly became the largest online community channel on the planet. As the first online social network, USENET newsgroups continues to be a vital resource and destination to thousands of users after three decades.

USENET Anniversary Celebration

In late 1979, Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis developed the foundation of what we know USENET to be today. Quickly outgrowing expectations, USENET exploded in popularity and became a daily destination for thousands to access a wide variety of newsgroups. Since then, USENET newsgroups have accumulated millions of subscribers over the last thirty years and continue to attract new ones every day. USENET also has been a vital online communication channel for amazing achievements, including the announcement of the launch of the World Wide Web in 1991.

To celebrate the thirtieth anniversary, on Wednesday, November 11th, all monthly USENET accounts will be offered for only $1.00 per month for the first two months of the membership term. This special applies to all premium USENET monthly plans, including the unlimited USENET newsgroup memberships.

Throughout the years, NewsDemon.com Newsgroups has been active in promoting the resources that the USENET newsgroup community provides. This year alone, they have hosted a number free USENET access offers to University and College campuses as well as media outlets to grow awareness and the overall USENET newsgroup participation.

NewsDemon.com Newsgroups has also put together an interview of two USENET pioneers: Tom Truscott, one of the founders of USENET and Brad Templeton, the originator of one of the most famous newsgroups, rec.humor funny. Both Truscott and Templeton share and discuss the past, present and future of the USENET phenomenon and offer their insight as well as a previously unreleased copy of the original memo announcing USENET.

USENET continues to grow the global community of users, developers and activists it has spawned since its creation. It’s expected that over the next thirty years, USENET will continue to evolve and innovate to better serve the community that has sustained it.

It’s no question that USENET is a unique place in the online world. After thirty years of being driven by its subscribers to improve upon it, the community fueled system is expected to sustain its growth for another thirty years to come. From all of us at NewsDemon.com Newsgroups, we wish a fond Happy Birthday, USENET!

Providing top-rated premium USENET access to both United States and Europe, NewsDemon.com Newsgroups is proud to participate in celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of USENET.