ZIP

Zoning Improvement Plan

Before the 1960s, mail was delivered based on the city and state it was addressed to, plus a two-digit postal code that indicated a broad region. In 1962, the United States Postal Service expanded this system to what we know as modern zip codes to assist in mail sorting and make it easier and faster to get an ever-increasing amount of mail to where it needed to go. The acronym Zip was chosen specifically to indicate that letters and packages arrive faster––zippier, if you will––when zip codes are used. Zip codes expanded to 5 digits and then to 9 digits for more precision in the United States.

Abbreviation: ZIP

It all started as a book club.

Yes, I’m serious. I started my work on the web more than two decades ago. My first site was a site called Helping Hand that curated the best sites from around the web to help people with their computers and with navigating resources on the Internet. Years later I sold the domain to a company that helped folks quit smoking, one of my first big contracts.

I began blogging on Blogger and waxed poetic about everything from politics to Internet tools. I was all over the place and mostly wrote for myself – without much of an audience. I belonged to a Marketing Book club in Indianapolis that quickly grew out of control. Over time, I found out that more and more of the group were coming to me for technology advice. The combination of my technology background and my business and marketing acumen was in high demand as the Internet rapidly brought change to the industry.

After reading Naked Conversations, I was motivated to better brand and control the content on the site. I also wanted more control over the look and feel of my blog, so I moved to my domain in 2006 and built my first WordPress site. Since I was focused on marketing technology, I didn’t want the domain with my name to get in the way, so I moved the site (painfully) to its new domain in 2008 where it’s grown ever since.

The Martech Zone is owned and operated by DK New Media, LLC, a company I started in 2009. After working with virtually every major online marketing department in my tenure at ExactTarget and launching Compendium, I knew there was a great demand for my expertise and guidance within such a complex industry.

DK New Media is my personal company overseeing my publications, podcasts, workshops, webinars, and speaking gigs. Highbridge is my agency with two other partners that helps companies maximize their investment in sales, marketing, and related products. We offer integration, migration, training, strategic consulting, and custom development.

Thank you so much for your support over the years!

Douglas Karr
CEO, DK New Media
VP, Highbridge

Zoning Improvement Plan

Related Articles

Campaigner: Advanced Email and SMS Automation and Workflows In One Affordable Marketing Platform

Location Data’s Next Big Thing: Fighting Ad Fraud And Knocking Out the Bots

Address Standardization 101: Benefits, Methods, and Tips