I was just sitting here thinking about the old blog scene in the mid-2000’s, and I thought it would be fun to share some things I remember from back then, good and bad.
⸙ Making your own layout graphics in Photoshop and then coding the layouts yourself using HTML coding. (Themes weren’t really a thing yet).
⸙ 8 pt. font and super skinny layout frames. (iframes were frequently used).
⸙ Cutenews. The blogging software I used prior to WordPress.
⸙ Coppermine Galleries. This was a software you could install on your site so you could have your own photo gallery. I had one as well as some other bloggers I knew. It was basically used as a public photo album of our lives.
⸙ Having ‘standout’ words using the bold, italics, and underline functions. Also, having those words be in a different color as the rest of the text.
⸙ Blogging was much more about sharing every little detail of your life, as opposed to creating articles or content.
⸙ The content we did create was often icons and graphics to use on other sites, such as message boards, myspace, etc.
⸙ Blog names were often a combination of two words thrown together. My first blog was Poison Paradise, and then Unfoolish-Miracles followed.
⸙ Photos were not as pretty or planned out. Our blog photos were usually just snapshots straight from a digital camera.
⸙ A lot of our blog posts didn’t even have photos at all. They were just random thoughts and stories of our lives. These days, some people won’t even look at a blog post if it doesn’t have photos in it.
⸙ The Elitists. There were some bloggers who thought they were better than everyone else, and they actually ran a website that basically bashed other people’s blogs. I never made it on there, but some of my blog friends did.
⸙ Krystole. This blogger earned that nickname because she was constantly stealing everybody’s layouts and using them as her own without permission.
⸙ TGO. He was basically the Perez Hilton of the non-celebrity world. While The Elitists were more into “critiquing” blogs, TGO was more interested in bashing the person. He would say some pretty cruel things about some people. My photo ended up on his site once after I defended another blog pal. He tried to say I had a mustache, and I was like “Bitch, where?”
These are just some of the things I remember off the top of my head. One thing that hasn’t changed is all the great people you can meet along the way. I met some great bloggers back then, some of which I am still in contact with to this day. Many of them don’t even blog anymore, but it’s still great that we can stay in touch. Hopefully I can say the same in the future about some of the new blogging friends I’ve made over the past year.
I heard of some of these tools. Saoirse Ronan friended me on a site called Xanga, in 2008. She left the site, when her day job got busy (She’s a well-known actress, now). I learned how to write blog posts, on Xanga. When it folded, Word Press beckoned, so here we all are- a wonderful family of millions!
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I actually never got into Xanga, but I did have a LiveJournal at one point.
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Ah yes, those old times. When Facebook had walls before timelines, and most rappers uploaded their stuff on Myspace. LimeWire and BearShare, too!
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I love this! It brings back so so many memories, I started my first blog/website in 2006 on piczo, do you remember that?! What a time to be alive
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I actually don’t recall that, but I did have a website on Freewebs in 2004.
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Ahhh I remember freewebs too!
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I love this! When I go back to my first blog posts they are so cringe-worthy!
Jennifer
Effortlessly Sophisticated
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I know! Same with mine. Haha
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definitely still meeting some really great bloggers! this is such a fun throwback 🙌🏻
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Thank you. 🙂
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Cool observations, Britney. ‘Krystole’ is hilarious! 😀
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I think she’s still around on the internet somewhere. 😂
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😀
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Haha this is great! I didn’t blog that long ago, but it’s neat to hear about it (:
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It was so much fun back then! I mean, it’s still fun now, but I really felt like you got to know bloggers on such a personal level back then because nothing was held back. 😛 That’s why I like yours and Hunida’s blogs so much because you blog about your life, so it reminds me a lot of the blogs back then.
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That’s awesome to hear! Thank you so much 🤗
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This is such a fascinating read!!! Dang, girl- you are a pro- since 2004?! I bet the community felt super tiny then. Thanks for sharing these tidbits. So interesting!
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There was still a nice sized community back then too, although it has definitely grown a lot. Popular bloggers or “influencers” weren’t really a thing then.
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I wish blogging was still this way, minus the drama, of course. I’d much rather read about personal life stuff than all these articles & reviews. It’s annoying now how everyone blogs to get something out of it like even a couple cents off an Amazon link…
I remember making my own layouts for MySpace, it was always so fun changing it up! I wish we could make our own on here or there were more websites with options for free ones.
I hope we can stay in touch even if we both stop blogging. 🙂
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Totally love this!! I started blogging in 2010, but still, I remember some of these things. I mean, I started on WordPress. But, I remember the skinny layouts, the small fonts, and the lack of priority regarding perfect photos and professional images. So much has changed, both good and bad. I do think blogging feels a bit more mature now thankfully, so that’s a good thing haha.
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Oh my god, the mention of Cutenews, Coppermine Galleries, skinny iframe videos and random graphics w/ coding really hits home for me. I absolutely LOVE the “old blogging scene” which is also brought me back to rebranding my blog to an “online diary” sort of thing again. I don’t think I can follow another blog that is filled with sponsored content or “how to start a blog”. I just love to snoop and read into people’s lives!
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Yes, same here! I try to do more personal posts like the old days when I can, but my life is a lot more boring now than it was when I was a teenager. lol
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I feel extremely young now from reading your blog and the comments 😂
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Better to feel young than to feel old. haha!
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True lol, you’re very pretty by the way. 😊
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