Things Change
Ten years ago (April 6th, 2001 to be precise) I purchased this domain for use as my personal webpage. This was a new and exciting time in my life, and the Internet was still a new place to a lot of people. I started it because I desired a place to share information about myself, as mundane as that information might be. I wanted a place to rant, post pictures, and I wanted my own email @andygoss.com. This was before sites like Facebook, MySpace, Tumblr, Flickr, Picasa, and others redefined how we interact socially on the Internet.
Many months passed before I started blogging.
On September 11, 2001 the world was forever changed. One of the clearest memories I have of that day is how terrible the Internet was. Twitter didn't exist (not that it would have had the capacity) and the major news networks didn't have the capacity to support the crushing amount of requests. I abandoned the Internet and went to the boardroom (I was working at my first cooperative education internship in downtown Louisville, KY) in time to watch live as the second plane hit the tower. I could not stand to watch much more and left work for the day. I didn't have a specific destination in mind, but I ended up on campus at the Triangle (my fraternity) house. The weather outside was perfect, and it was in stark contrast with the mood. I watched from the front porch swing as friends and strangers walked by with the same zombie-like look on their faces.
Things changed after that day. The shared negative experience created feelings of camaraderie and a certain care for others that I didn't feel was there before. I think that my desire to blog and share my thoughts, pictures, etc was strengthened that day. In late 2001, I came to Blogger.
Google eventually purchased Blogger, and the service just got better. In 2004, Google announced their email product (Gmail) and along with many other Blogger users, I was among the first to get a Gmail account.
I stopped blogging with any regularity several years ago. Things changed in my life and blogging was no longer the same outlet for me that it once was. Facebook also deserves some of the credit. Facebook created a social outlet that I originally sought when I created my blog. I think blogging still has a place, if nothing else as a writing exercise, but for most people Facebook can easily replace a personal blog.
In 2010, Google decided to cut the "publish via ftp" feature of Blogger. A move that certainly made sense, but it also forced my hand. I am still not sure what I want to do with andygoss.com, but for now you have my story. My blog will live on in a dormant state, if you really want to read it let me know.
Thanks for reading. Who knows what the next 10 years will bring, but I'm sure we'll have to adapt. Things change.