Our History:

1996 Out in Columbus was conceived by parent company Ethan Interactive, Inc. 1997 Ethan Interactive, Inc. moved its corporate headquarters to the Stonewall-Columbus building located in the Short North District. Out in Columbus became available on the Internet. Over 800 people in the Columbus area signed up during the first month. More than 3,000 visits were logged as well. The visitor count surpassed 900,000 hits. Out in America released its first wave of 22 new city sites. 1998 Out in Columbus started plans and announcements for the 1998 Out in Columbus Awards Show, which would later become The Outie Awards. Out in Columbus reached 10,000 active members. 2000 By early 2000 Ethan Interactive released its second wave of 40 new city sites to bring the Out in America Cities Network to 63 distinct metropolitan markets ranging from OutinNYC.com to OutinSanDiego.com. 2001 Out in America, now offering premium memberships with enhanced features, surpassed 100,000 registered members. This increase in membership represented a 100% expansion in just six months. 2002 In early 2002 the Out in America Cities Network released its third wave of 46 new city sites to raise the network to 109 city sites. Membership surpassed 250,000. Out in America sponsored and promoted 30 Pride events including: San Francisco, New York, Seattle, D.C., Denver, Atlanta, Columbus, Albuquerque, Boston, Las Vegas, Cincinnati, Charlotte, San Diego, Orlando, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Tulsa, Nashville, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Allentown and Omaha. 2003 Out in America reached 400,000 members to become the largest city-based GLBT Web portal in the United States. Again Out in America reached out to it members by participating in more than 40 Pride celebrations across the United States. 2004 Out in America reached 575,000 members, and sponsored more than 150 local and national programs to further the GLBT community. 2005 Ethan Interactive, Inc. moved its corporate headquarters from the Stonewall-Columbus building to the Miranova Corporate Tower in downtown Columbus. The Out in America Cities Network released a fourth wave of 69 new city sites to boost the network to 178 city sites. OIA grew to encompass every state capital in the United States. Membership reached 700,000. The Outie Foundation was formed to support and strengthen the Columbus GLBT community. Plans were made to take the foundation and its educational programs across the United States.