hi hello!

[jessica]

lol so i haven't done an introduction like this in ages, and forgot how awkward it feels. anyway enjoy my life story i guess!!!

so uh, basics: my name is jessica and i live in nyc with my boyfriend and beautiful angelic perfect dachshund mix ponyo (my bf is ok too i guess) i like cute things, video games, reading, journaling, digital art, coding, and sour candy. some of the "big influences" on my life have been sailor moon, studio ghibli, sanrio, the early internet (!!). these days I work "in tech". i was cool online when i was 12 and i definitely talk about this in job interviews.

now, computers! internet! we had one in my house since i was a child because my dad worked for IBM, so one of my first memories is playing lemmings on MS-DOS. I was totally fascinated, and when we eventually got internet access I came across a website made by kimikat (sadly long-defunct) which BLEW my mind. I decided that I needed to make a website, and convinced my parents to let me buy a domain (i have no idea why they agreed, but it's still alive and is old enough to legally drink now eheh) For a long period of time I was one of the only one of my classmates that even owned a computer, so the vibe was completely different in so many ways (both good and bad).

So from about 1999 - 2007? i had a series of websites, frequented (and eventually was a mod/super admin for) various forums, made lots of pixel art, raised many virtual pets, met a ton of incredibly creative and talented people, and basically never did any of my homework lolol. eventually we all got older and had new life obligations like college and jobs, so online creativity took a backseat. alongside that, the world was changing and things gradually moved to the same handful of social media websites we all know and roll our eyes at today, and i think eventually we all just accepted that the web we knew was gone, so it all resolved into fond memories. i still keep in touch with most folks, though and actually talk to them almost every day. :)

i ended up working in tech accidentally due to the experience and knowledge i gained during my "very online" period, which was honestly something i'd never even considered because i had no formal education, but it turns out it completely doesn't matter as long as you know what you're doing! so after doing that for several years now i thought...i could just make a website again? there is literally nothing stopping me from doing that. i know way more than i did before about web development. it would help me with my job and give me a creative/relaxation outlet. then after like, moments of searching i found this community and thought WOW THAT IS SO COOL I LOVE IT SO MUCH YESSSSS MAXIMALISM BUT MAKE IT MODERN LFG.

so here i am. it's nice to meet you, and i hope you enjoyed my ted talk.


edit// omg this is literally so long lmao sry

[Melooon]

Hi jessica, welcome to the forum 

Wow what a story! I think you might be the only person from the original pixel-site scene that Iv seen pop up here! Your story sounds kinda similar to mine, except my parents didn't work at IBM and had no idea what do when I wanted to make a website, and the issue was promptly forgotten for 16 years until I had that same "OMG I could make that website I wanted right now" moment (Iv had that moment about a few things in life and it's such a great feeling!)

(Also it took me a while to notice, but omg you have a great domain name! Its also deceptively vast, everything is clickable! You might wanna add HTTPS though)

Ayeee, the challenge of making maximalist sites modern has been a real issue for many of us for a while.. the prob is that modern tends to go hand in hand with minimalist, so trying to figure out a design language that's modern maximal basically means reinventing 20 years of web design. The main page for this forum is still one of the best attempts Iv made so far!

2007 was the year of the iPhone and the start of app culture, it was also when social media started to stop being funky and take itself seriously - I would say that's the start of the modern web as we know it now! Now is an interesting time, because there are still people like you rediscovering the web they remembered, but in a few years that's gonna stop happening because the kids growing up won't remember the web at all!

You might enjoy this thread 

I hope you enjoy your own rediscovery and are able to find some fresh creative spirit here

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[jessica]

thank you for the welcome! i’m surprised there haven’t been more like me come through, because everyone i speak to about it goes in about how much they miss it. i’m trying to encourage them to start making stuff again (partially to keep myself motivated)

and ahaha yeah the domain is definitely old + dusty and needs some major love. my goal is to do an entire revamp, but for now it’s just a landing page and a few folks i still host.

2007 does seem like a pivotal year. it’s also the year i graduated high school and moved away from home, so i never knew if it was just my own experience… but yes, technologically speaking a lot of the major themes today started then. i was so wrapped up in college work i didn’t even know geocities was shut down a few years later until after it happened 😔 i think that’s when i REALLY realized the ephemeral nature of the web.

checking out the thread!! i certainly have opinions lol