Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, I took classes and received a certification in web development. I learned about token rings and routing tables, could make things with Perl and Javascript, and even compiled some Java. I also dabbled with design, but it wasn’t my forte. I loved the back end stuff, though. And in 1999, that was totally what passed for “back end” web development.
There’s a saying in the world of Innertubes: Don’t look behind you. Or, at least, there used to be. It basically means that there’s a young kid standing behind you who knows a newer way to do things than you do, and can likely do it better and faster. And it makes total sense, because the fact that I know CGI and Perl is about as useful as my understanding of how to edit reel-to-reel tape. I am, between the techniques I learned in college to prepare me for an underpaid and unrewarding long and rewarding career in broadcast journalism and the ones I learned while earning my Network Development certificate in 15 years ago, perfectly trained for the bronze age.
Which brings me to this web site. I started blogging about 10 years ago, using Blogger or Blogspot or whatever we called it before Google ate the world, and it was straightforward enough. Plus, a smattering of what I learned about networks and stuff (that’s an industry term) might even have been relevant.
I have now outgrown my blog, because in addition to whining about things on the Internet and in print, I have a book contract for a travel narrative, a photography portfolio, a casual photography business, and a full schedule of speaking about my Florida research and teaching photography classes. I needed a website that would allow me to showcase my work, maintain a calendar, and still blog. I made the switch to WordPress a few months ago, bought a theme, and promptly grew so overwhelmed I stopped working on the site
You will note that while I list all the fantastic features I wanted my site to have, I did not link to any of those pages. That’s because I haven’t actually made them yet. Even though I once knew what the hell I was doing, at this point I’m lucky if this post feeds to Twitter when I’m done here.
The good news is, my friend and editor Shelly completely overhauled the Gabber web site. And if that doesn’t work, maybe my 10-year-old cousin will come visit soon. She updated my dad’s Flash player when she was seven, so I’m pretty sure she can code now.
