August 2002 Archives

Ever heard of the International Library of Poetry? They run Poetry.com, a website that searches for poems, and publishes them in annual compilations. When I was a senior in high school, I submitted a sonnet I wrote in three hours one evening when I should've been doing my homework. To my amazement, it was accepted as part of the upcoming compilation. I was thrilled, and was ready to buy the compilation, until I saw that it was well over a hundred dollars. Then I got suspicious.


I ran a search on Yahoo! for the organization, and turned up dozens of sites that labeled it as a borderline scam. Apparently, almost anyone can make it into the compilation. In fact, on an ABC 20/20 special, a group of 2nd graders were able to get their poems accepted. The company makes a fortune by selling their overpriced poetry compilations and a number of other trinkets...I was offered a framed copy of my poem, as well as tickets to a reading of my poem in Washington D.C., all for ridiculous prices.


After being exposed to more good poetry, I know now that my poem wasn't that great, and I'm almost embarassed about it (you can search Poetry.com for it under my name if you REALLY want to see it). Poetry.com's tactics bothered me: they stroked people's egos, knowing that affirming someone's self-worth could lower their defenses to the point that they would spend obscene amounts of money on useless trinkets.


Why am I bringing this up? I think I've found another organization with similar shady tactics, an organization that's gaining widespread acceptance on the web, especially on the personal web: the Golden Web Awards. Alarm bells went off because I started seeing a lot of sites of varying quality winning the award. They are also affiliated with Who's Who, another group that I associate with ego-stroking their way to people's pockets.


A quick Google Search reveals hundreds, if not thousands of sites that won this year's Golden Web Award. Some show genuine talent, others do not. A few are even under the illusion that they are the sole recipient of the award for 2002-2003. A good judge of an award's merit is selectivity, but if so many people are winning the Golden Web Award, what weight does it really carry?


To add further evidence to my case, I submitted a site to the GWA: an incomplete portfolio site hosted on this domain. Currently, only 5 of the 16 links on the homepage are working, only two of which stay on the site. So, I submitted an incomplete, 3-page site.


Ladies and Gentlemen, as of this morning, I am a recipient of the "prestigious" 2002-2003 Golden Web Award.


I was surprised, really: even though it seems hard not to win a GWA, I figured they'd realize that my site was obviously not a serious entry. And, predictably, they're already offering me all sorts of ways to celebrate my new award, liberally scattering the word "prestigous" in the notification e-mail in an effort to validate themselves and stroke my ego.

What better way to increase the prestige and traffic to your website than to have it listed in our online directory of exceptional websites? ($14.95-$79.95) Note: Someone should update the site, since they're still offering a listing in the 2001 edition.


You and Your Staff at .network have Obviously Worked Very Hard - Proudly Display Your Award - AT YOUR BUSINESS, HOME or OFFICE: For Your Clients, Colleagues and Friends to Admire: Golden Web Award Certificates (only $19.95)


Become a respected member of the Internet's leading Association of IT and Web Professionals, I.A.W.M.D. ($39.95-$69.95)


If you are reading this, your website is obviously very well done. How Many People Ever Get to See it??? (Pay-per-click search engine submission, $39.95)

I should be too cool for the Friday Five. After all, I should a) be able to generate my own interesting content, and b) have better things to do on Friday night.


Alas, I cannot make either of those claims. And I must admit...it's fun to read what people have to see in these things, and the questions are really good. And I'm not cool anyways. *beams in his dorkiness*


So without further ado...


1. What is your current occupation? Student, in-house web designer with a non-profit. Is this what you chose to be doing at this point in your life? The student part, yes. I totally wasn't expecting the web designer part, and I'm loving it. Why or why not? Well, I assumed I'd be going to college, though I wasn't sure where or what I'd be studying. In fact, I still haven't entirely figured out what I want to study, since I have so many interests. The web design thing was a total surprise: I only really got into it during the latter half of my senior year, and it took me a couple more months before I made my first personal site. I love the work, and it always astounds me that I can be paid for doing something I'd do for free. God is good.


2. If time/talent/money were no object, what would your dream occupation be? A fighter pilot. The flying bug runs in my family on both sides, and I was bit at a young age. The idea of flying fighter jets has appealed to ever since I was a kid.


3. What did/do your parents do for a living? My father has had an assortment of jobs, including being a zoo manager (no joke), a consultant, and a private businessman. My mom is a research scientist. Has this had any influence on your career choices? Yes. You could not drag me into a research occupation with a thousand wild horses.


4. Have you ever had to choose between having a career and having a family? Not at all. Between the two, my first duty is to my family, of course, but I also must WORK to be a provider for the family.


5. In your opinion, what is the easiest job in the world? Being a parent. Almost anyone can do it.What is the hardest? Being a good parent. Why? If one truly understands all of the duties required of a parent, one would not take said duties lightly. Most of responsibility for the spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional upbringing and well-being of a child falls squarely on the shoulders of the parents. This is a mandate and an awesome and solemn duty from God himself—committing oneself entirely to a human soul from your own flesh and blood.


Wow. That was fun.

It's that time of year, boys and girls...fantasy football season. Oh yeah...in a few weeks, I'll have to start making the agonizing decisions: should I start a top quarterback vs. an elite defense, or a decent quarterback against a mediocre defense? Decisions, decisions, decisions.


Thanks for the nice comments. And Brian, your site rocks. Force fields and giant grasshoppers? I always wonder how you find that stuff.


Someone tell me how can I get a job in web design when 14-year olds make sites like this? Awesome work, Annie.

I was planning on saving this particular entry until I launched Version 2, but at the rate I'm going, the site probably won't be finished until the Italians win a war (translation: never, unless they decide to invade a small African kingdom that beat them the first time round). So...


Dan Hunter completely revamped 1844 Design, one of my all-time favorite sites. As usual, his site showcases amazing graphics, with his focus unashamedly on Jesus Christ.


tiffany redesigned as well, with her signature "simple yet elegant" style. Purty.


The girl in Angela's new blog layout bears a striking resemblance to her. Coincidence? I think not.


Gaile's recent redesign of femstyle has garnered even more attention from high-profile design portals. Big congrats to her. She redesigned Luvlr as well...I like her current 'Trust Japan' theme.


I've been picking up on a number of trends gaining the web design world in the past couple of months. As some of you may remember, I predicted that 2002 would be a year of minimalistic design, which still seems to be true. However, another trend is manifesting itself as well, one that I can't quite put a name on. Neutrals (especially lighter shades of gray) are starting to be replaced by earth tones, especially sand-colored browns. Serif fonts, especially Georgia, are making a comeback, as are tiled backgrounds—not the multi-colored, psychedelic ones that cause epileptic seizures, but more rustic patterns associated with wallpaper. It's really kind of entertaining to watch the trend spread, and I'd be interested in seeing if they make it into major commercial projects.


Maintaining interesting content on this site is becoming quite a challenge. This is quite possibly the blandest entry I've ever made. *sigh*


*discouraged*

TheThousand.net Version 2 started production August 17th, 2002 at approximately 1:00am.


Renewed. Refocused. Reborn.


Stay tuned for more frustratingly vague updates.


Thanks to sarah and courtney for signing my guestmap! Incidentally, courtney and I share the same birthday, down to the year. funky.


Cool, my cousin Mami just signed it, too!


Goodness. If I gave out awards, hannah would sweep the "Most Entertaining 'Coming Soon' Placeholder" Award.


Oh gosh. I just realized that TheThousand.net is now one year old, as of ten days ago. Happy belated birthday to...the DNS record? I dunno.

Belated thanks to ryan, sara, reb, brian, liz, alan, hannah, carly, and eme for signing my guestmap.


And yes, as you'll probably note, I do link people who sign my guestmap to thank them. Why? Because I'm just nice like that. Or maybe just desperate for guestmap entries. Yeah, probably desperate.


I have a little Blogger problem that I was hoping someone could help me out with (for another site, not this one). Does anyone know a way for Blogger to show just the most recent post on one page, and then an archive of previous posts on a subsequent page...I know that Blogger automatically archives entries, but that's not quite what I'm looking for...rather, I'm looking for a way to distinguish the most recent post, and then to include that on a different page via a server side include. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. I'd probably link you, too. Because I'm nice. Or just desperate. Yeah, probably desperate.