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by Miki Thomas

The Internet, and the Web in particular, has been a boon for GLBT entrepreneurs. A quick look at any search engine under “Gay & Lesbian” brings up categories such as “online shopping” among other enterprises targeting the GLBT community. It’s certainly an exciting development.

Some of these new business ventures are quite ambitious. Rainbow Voice is an Internet service provider created with the GLBT community in mind. Rainbow Voice is pretty much like other ISPs in terms of monthly cost, extensive local dial-up services, and technical support. What differentiates it from the others is its exclusively GLBT content from chat rooms, search engines, and news. In addition, Rainbow Voice donates 5 percent of its customers’ subscription fees to different non-profit organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign.

Another ambitious venture is the G & L Internet Bank of Pensacola, Florida. According to its mission statement, the G & L Internet Bank hopes “to create a respectful, comfortable, discrimination-free bank for all our customers that will financially bolster the growth and prosperity of our communities, gay and non-gay alike.” As with any other bank, the G & L Internet Bank offers retail and business loans, mortgages, and deposit accounts, and it’s FDIC insured. For those new to Internet banking, G & L Internet Bank does offer a “how-to” at its site.

Gay.com is operated by Online Partners of San Francisco, a provider of interactive services for the GLBT community. It offers everything and anything from a variety of sources. News comes courtesy of The Advocate, search engines are provided by Rainbow Query and Looksmart, and lifestyle information is available through a partnership between the GLBT newsmagazine In the Life and Gay.com. This partnership brings monthly audio and video highlights of the PBS program. You’ll need the Real Audio player to both view and hear the clips, which you can download for free at Real.com.

March offers a couple of opportunities for some major partying, namely Mardi Gras and St. Patrick’s Day.

During the first weekend of March, New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro will be the places to be for the uninhibited. If New Orleans is your destination, check out the Gay Mardi Gras! New Orleans Complete GLBT Carnival Guide first. Not only does it provide a list of events during the weekend, it gives suggestions for restaurants, lodgings, bars, and clubs. The Rio Gay Guide isn’t just limited to Carnival, though it does offer a very thorough listing of events in Rio, Ipanema, and Cariocas. It also gives an excellent overview of Rio for the gay traveler, covering items from hotels to beaches.

St. Patrick’s Day is traditionally a day to engage in drunken revelry, but for the Irish Lesbian and Gay Organization of New York, it’s a day of protest. For years, ILGO has attempted to march in New York’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade like their counterparts in Ireland have been able to do in Dublin’s parade. However, the Ancient Order of Hibernians and others involved with the parade have succeeded in barring them from marching. March 17, 2000, marks the tenth year ILGO has protested this exclusion. For more information about ILGO and their ongoing struggle, check out their Web page.

Holidays such as St. Patrick’s Day are often great excuses for sending cards to friends and family, and now with email, you can save the price of a stamp and card and brighten someone’s day with an animated ecard. egreetings is one of many online providers of ecards but unlike many of them, egreetings offers gay & lesbian ecards. You can send a friend an ecard of Melissa Etheridge singing a cut from her latest album, or how about sending a family member a coming out announcement? Imagine the recipient’s face on opening that!