I don’t even remember how today started, but somehow I ended up having a total blast from the past sort of day. I revisited GKWC and was kind of disappointed at what it has become. I remembered the Internet Archive thing and then spent a couple hours in 2004 re-visiting GKWC in it’s heyday. I kept having flashbacks and deja-vu moments and stuff…I kind of miss that site. It’s too bad that it’s all but abandoned now.
I had started a network of websites and forums in 2003/2004 (and remember that this was back in the day when the internet was very different and message boards were still a big thing — this was before Twitter and Facebook and iPhone!) that eventually merged with GKWC in early 2004. I, along with two other people, were admins on this message board that was just fantastic. There were great people and tons of awesome things going on there (SMP’s Board Wars, TD, etc.). Eventually, I stepped down as administrator in 2005/2006 (sometime around there). Even though I’m not still involved (and only stop by once or twice a year), I still feel heavily attached to something that was a huge part of my life for years.
The current state of the site is kind of upsetting, but at the same time it’s important to recognize that the internet is completely different here in 2009 than it was in 2004. With the advent of Facebook and MySpace, teen-focused forums like that really are going to die out sooner or later. I just wish that GKWC could have lasted a bit longer. :)
