Today is my 37th birthday. I have been inching for something nostalgic and fun from the days of the internet before what it is now. And though I have also found myself in the pits of social media... I'm literally sick of it. Every site wants to use algorithmic feeds, ID verification, and AI tools in places where they don't need to be used in, despite objections from their users.
My social media footprints go back at least 23 years at this point. I started with Myspace in 2003 due to classmates also having Myspace profiles. It was my only social media profile until I made a YouTube account in 2006 (though I'm currently using my secondary account as my main one is a "brand" account. More on that in a later post). I continued my social media adventures with:
Not to mention the email accounts I made (my current one was made in 2008 originally to keep up with classwork). That is 23 years of social media accounts just to keep up with with current events, meeting new people, chat (and fight) over similar interests, and more. Today, I currently use Twitter (or X), Instagram, Twitch, Reddit, Discord, TikTok, Threads, and Upscrolled, however the length of time between posts are sometimes weeks or even months, so don't get your hopes up once I start linking them.
So why Neocities? Before social media, kids used to make websites on sites like GeoCities, Angelfire, and Tripod. I used to make websites on all 3 platforms. My niche at the time was PBS Kids shows, and to be really more specific... I was a fan of the second iteration of the 70s kids show ZOOM. In fact, my first two emails were about ZOOM (one I'm still using today as a secondary). I don't remember how many sites I have made about this show in the 4 or 5 years I made them, but that experience introduced me to HTML. I also switched my niche to TV anchors in 2004 after my ZOOM obsession died out. That one also lasted 4 years. My last site was made in 2004-ish and it was about CNN anchors at the time.
I'm using my personal new year to relearn HTML, but also introduce myself to CSS and Javascript. And who knows, within a year or two, I might make a career switch to coding. But for now, this is a fun hobby and I'm planning to stick it out in the long run.