Truesilver Web Social Marketing celebrates 23 years
12 October 2026Then versus now: what the business landscape looked like in 2003 when I started Truesilver WEB/SOCIAL/MARKETING …
2003:
When we started, we only offered telemarketing because that was the best way for an SME in B2B to reach new customers at the time.
▪️Facebook hadn’t yet launched in the UK
▪️Websites were built using software like Dreamweaver, PagePlus or hard code and looked awful.
▪️I had a Dell laptop; it was very clunky and had only 512MB space.
▪️Broadband didn’t reach our village until 2 years later. Dial-up only.
▪️My mobile phone was a Nokia 7210 and I could just about send an email with it
▪️Adult minimum wage was £4.60 ph
▪️1st class stamps were 28p
▪️Tony Blair was PM
▪️You had to have at least 2 directors listed on your Limited company
▪️The 2nd Gulf War had begun earlier that year
2026 (23 years later):
Now offering websites, social media management, online ads management… and strangely going back to telemarketing and sales letters as they’re getting fantastic results again.
▪️Facebook is now a mammoth beast of a company with mammoth rivals
▪️I have a laptop, a PC tower, a tablet and 2 mobile phones (my phone alone has more memory than my original laptop).
▪️My broadband speed is over 600Mps
▪️Adult minimum wage is £12.71ph
▪️1st class stamps are now £1.80 each (and that’s just a standard letter)
▪️One director is now allowed to run a limited company
▪️Plus, running as self-employed requires tax submissions every 3 months.
▪️There are wars in Ukraine, Israel/Gaza and (unofficially**) Iran
** That was an interesting find!
Thank you very much to everyone who wished us a happy anniversary! 🎉🎉🎉
It feels like yesterday and a million years ago all at once…
Have a great day! Leigh
