I've tried to be a consistent writer and blogger for years decades. It's never stuck. Here's why:
- First – I'm not a great writer, and it's been a struggle to overcome that fear of sounding like a bumbling adult.
- Second – Growing up, I was obsessed with technology. More on that history below. However, as I've gotten older, my relationship with technology could be listed as “It's Complicated.”
- Third – The internet used to be fun. Like most people, I've observed what “social” media has done to our world. How many hours do we spend scrolling endlessly? Too many, that's for sure.
- Fourth – You used to make time to get on the internet. BBS, IRC, ICQ, and AIM. Now, we are constantly connected. All experts agree it's not healthy. Many folks I know here in the Bay Area limit their children's screen time. Do you know why? They work in tech and know it's not good to be glued to your phone all day. The irony of it all. I'm not even judging because I'm one of them too. You'd laugh if you saw my weekly Apple screen time report.
When I first moved to the Bay Area, eight years ago, I stumbled on an article that I can't find at the moment. It was about someone who, I think, was a higher-up at one of the FAANG companies and how he's now disconnected from it all. At the time, I was baffled and didn't get it. Now I do.
I hope I can find the article one day, I'm going to frame it and hang it over my desk that currently holds my MacBook Pro, Mac Studio Pro, iPad Pro, iPhone Pro, and a TV connected to every streaming service. The irony of it all.
If you've read this far, you might be wondering, “Why the hell are you trying this again?” It's a good question. One I don't quite have an answer for, but I do know what thing. This new AI era is exciting. For me, it's making the internet fun again. Plus, there is hope that these decentralized networks, such as Mastodon and PixelFed, continue to grow but maintain their core principles. It all reminds me of yesteryear when I would come home from school, sign onto IRC, and talk to my favorite X-Philes.
Here's my original blog post from many, many years ago.
Let's see how this third try at blogging goes. ✌️
Zach
Date: 2010ish
It has been over 20 years since I first connected to the Internet. Things sure have changed. One of my first memories of cyberspace is downloading a picture of troops fighting during the first Gulf War. It took hours and hours to download on my speedy 2400 Baud modem. For those too young to remember, we had no World Wide Web back then. Instead, we had online services with “advanced” graphical user interfaces. In my house, we used Prodigy.
Sometime in 1994, Prodigy released a game-changing update. Finally, its customers were able to access this thing called the World Wide Web. It was still slow, but it brought the entire world (well, the small percentage with access) right into your home. It was about this time I began transforming into the geek I am today.
I soon began participating in IRC chatrooms about my favorite TV show, The X-Files. I also started playing first-person shooters with people across the country. I was hooked. How-to documents started to appear for creating your own website. Determined to create my own, I read and read. Once I had an inkling of the concept, I signed up for a GeoCities (RIP) account and published my very first website. I have tried to find a copy of its greatness on archive.org to no avail. So let me describe its core features to you:
- A flashy color scheme, yellow background with neon green text
- Loaded with awesome animated gif images
- Enough sound files to make it load slowly on a fiber connection
Oh, and it was dedicated to The X-Files, of course!
Since then, I have been a self-described geek. I love technology, social networking, gadgets, and everything in between.
Why has it taken me so long to create my own website again? Not sure. I guess, I am afraid this will never live up to my first one.
