The relationship between the two organizations began in April of 1996 when the two founders met at Internet World's Spring conference.

"We are pleased to be affiliated with the Webmasters' Guild," says Joe Andrieu, president of the IDA. "They've demonstrated a sincere and capable commitment to advancing the profession of webmastery."

"We believe that the strength of the IDA in attracting Internet developers will, when coupled with the Guild's focus on Webmasters and the professionals who support them, further underscore the growing importance of the Internet and the Web as the primary business medium of the future, and we look forward to exploring how we and the IDA can cooperatively serve our constituents' needs," added Matthew Cutler, president of the Webmasters' Guild.

Both the IDA and the Webmasters' Guild were formed in the 1994-95 time-frame. The Guild has over 2000 members to date, along with two local chapters, with many more to be announced shortly. The IDA has over 1200 members and has several chapters, including ones in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Toronto, London, San Diego, Chicago and Washington, D.C. Both organizations provide a range of services and initiatives for helping members improve their professional skills and expand their capabilities.

The Webmasters' Guild (http://www.webmaster.org/), based in Cambridge, MA, is the country's first and leading professional association of Webmasters and the Webmaster community. By dedicating itself to educating, promoting, and unifying this global community, the Guild and its chapters provide an active forum for Web professionals to share information among a great diversity of Web disciplines. The Guild was founded by net.Genesis Corp., a leader in Web and Internet products, and it maintains East and West coast chapters.