As we start yet another calendar year, I’ve been thinking a lot about my digital presence and how I’ve interacted with the digital world and its many tools. As an artist, I’ve always been interested in technology and our relationship to it and through it. It is the human connection that happens, and sometimes get substituted and lost, that interests me.
I was an early user of HTML code and really enjoyed building websites on Angelfire in my freshman year of High School (c. 1998/99). It was a constant challenge to get images and text to show on your site in the way you wanted them to, perhaps the text flashed in rainbow colors across a tiled background. Finding and inserting a gif was the ultimate coup. I would swap code with friends, share our accomplishments, and hyperlink together our pages. We all added the code for an HTML ticker that tracked page visits. For us, it wasn’t so much about content but rather about graphics and design. We were children at play with an expanding set of blocks.
Then at some point AOL messenger became really important. The fact that you could talk to your friends in real time without them having to be there and without being heard was thrilling. You could share websites and “surf” the weird corners of the web together. I found out that Princess Di had died while chatting on AOL. My friend typed it to me and I turned away from the screen and ran into the living room to tell my parents. TV channels were switched and sure enough, there were the news reports.
It didn’t take much time till I used my acquired “coding” knowledge to build actual websites, the first one probably being for my mother’s art gallery in 2001. I also helped my father build a website with built-in early e-commerce for a new business venture he was starting. My own website has gone through many changes, always rethinking the architecture of the pages, how best to convey information. For a moment, there even existed an Atmen Press page where I published a few writings, photos, etc. The start of a digital zine.
I joined MySpace and that was cool. It was like my two favorite pastimes in one: connecting with friends and sharing ideas, thoughts, and accomplishments. When Facebook started, we all upgraded. What made it more appealing than MySpace was that it was at first just for college students. Certain universities were early adopters and others soon followed. Mine was in the later group and boy was I jealous. The exclusivity of becoming part of this private club of future great minds seemed like the ultimate. We waved, we liked, we poked…we shared tons of photos downloaded straight from our digital cameras and we didn’t care. Our lives were beginning and we just received a cyberspace telephone pole/bulletin board with unlimited flier space. Why wouldn’t we share everything and tag our friends?
At this point in 2024, Facebook and all of social media is just a copy of a copy of a copy of what it, or rather that feeling, used to be. Rather than writing the script, we participate in something scripted. There are parameters that we need to follow. That odd thing you want to share probably won’t be seen by anyone unless you play by the rules and are a frequent player. While the internet has always been about sharing yourself, it has become more performative with the camera turned on you. Rather than looking in on someone’s life, you are being shown something.
For now I think I’m going back to tinkering on my website and focus on that part of my digital presence. Maybe dust off my html code knowledge and see what else I can do with my wordpress template (or maybe remove the template?). Email is still amazing for sharing news and mail from a carrier feels even better.
My goal for 2024 is not to break 1,000 followers but rather gain 10 new supporters and enthusiasts; to spend time making rather than conforming; and ultimately…to take a deep breath.