I still have that computer! It doesn’t turn on anymore, but it’s a reminder of how far we have come in our technology needs and uses. I didn’t replace that computer until many years later, and many more Macs followed after that. I would upgrade the RAM and buy more floppy disks. My Macintosh Performa 6100 was a gem. It allowed me to use eMail and a new program called America Online or AOL, as it came to be known. I still have my original “screen name” and surprise many people by sharing that AOL address with them when they ask for my email. I can’t give it up now, it’s a classic. (Full disclosure: I have many other email addresses too, but I am truly sentimental about my first!)
With each upgraded computer, more tasks were available. I was in heaven when the application Page Mill by Adobe came out and I began creating my own web pages. It was a WYSIWYG (pronounced: “wiz-ee-wig”, meaning “What You See Is What You Get”) and it was a blast! Uploading photos using a dial-up modem was sheer insanity, but we didn’t have any choice before Broadband became the way of the “Information Super Highway”.
After Page Mill went away there were a few other web creation programs, but my favorite was iWeb from Apple. I created webpages all over the place and my .mac account was FREE in those early days! There were many beautiful looking templates to choose from and photos were easy to load by using the “drag and drop” method. It was a breeze. And then that went away.
Then things got competitive and one could hire a web designer to make your websites. Along comes social media and websites are not as necessary….Unless you are a blogger. Word Press and other template based apps grew and grew. I am writing this blog post using one of those: Weebly. I like it a lot for the simple things I create. One can add photos, links and text, making changes in color and style with the assortment of templates they offer.
This short history lesson is my round about way of telling you how I got here. Each of us took a slightly different path. What was your first computer? What app do you use to produce your blog or websites? Do you use a webmaster? Or are you design and build your own sites and postings? As for web hosting and domain names, that’s a whole other bag of beans!
I am happy to say that I enjoy the tech side of writing a blog. I enjoy the “liking” and “tweeting” and “sharing”. Others of us in the trenches may not enjoy this part. But look how far we have come! So many people can share their passions and thoughts with literally hundreds and thousands in an instant. The sky is the limit!
I’d love to hear about your journey. Please feel free to comment and share!
Thanks for reading!
ANNE Z
