And the fun never stops.
Where to start?
I’ve been bouncing around online for quite a while now. All the fault of a good friend who introduced me to the online community way back when on AOL. After an evening in a chat room – The Best Little Chathouse – I was well and truly hooked. Being able to communicate around the world from my keyboard was addicting.
I went from there to being a volunteer at AOL and was on GEnie as well. When the Internet opened up, I was one of those folks way back when on Usenet, too. Eventually, it all became a paid gig (royalties) with AOL and a title. Manager of the Television Viewers Community. Chat rooms, message boards, file archives and a whole lot of fun. The years were good but it eventually ended as AOL’s business model matured.
In 2002, I joined the staff at Jim Hill Media. On a somewhat regular basis, I offered stories that usually were different than the usual Disney stuff. Trying to show that there was more than just that fandom out there. In 2007, I struck out on my own with The Blue Parrot. That name came after one too many late night viewings of Casablanca. Good pal Ken Mitchroney provided the classic art that recreates a painting on the wall outside the cafe, owned by Senor Ferrare.
My weapon of choice in being online has been the products from Cupertino. Started way back on a second hand Apple ][e, and graduated to a Mac SE. Went mobile with a Powerbook Duo 230 and haven’t looked back since. Today it’s the Mac Mini and and iPhone 4s. Thank you, Steve Jobs for making it all possible. (That’s not to say that I have not dabbled with the Dark side along the way. I can and do use Windows in a pinch.)
It has been fun along the way. More things and places I never would have visited than you can shake a stick at. Looking back offers great memories, but looking ahead has some fun in store, too. You just never know what life has in store.
If I were to guess, I have been online more than 20 years. Hard to imagine where it all would lead if I thought about it then.
So, loyal readers, thanks for being here with me. And if you’re just joining the fun here, check out some of the posts from those years. The scary thing is that somewhere I do have some transcripts from those early days on AOL. Maybe I’ll share one sometime.
It’s deja vu all over again.