10 years on the Web: Saying Goodbye to the site that started everything
This is a bittersweet day for me.
After 10 years of working on the net, I’m saying goodbye to the site that got me started in this whole world of Web site production. The site that, truly, has led me to where I am today.
The intro image from the 1998 version of the site.
Carteret.com, the first domain name I ever owned, and the site that taught me just about everything I know about the internet today, is now for sale.
Why? Because I’ve learned as much as I can from it now, and because, according to the offers I’ve already received for the name, it’s apparently worth more money to others than it is to me these days.
The Web that was
So how’d this all begin?
Damn. I missed the first anniversary of my 15 minutes of fame!
It’s hard to believe, but it’s been more than a year since Slashdot, USAToday.com and others introduced our site to thousands of innocent bystanders when they ran links to this article that appeared on the front of Turdhead.com August 16 of last year.
Thousands of readers followed those links here last year, and we’d like to thank them all now. Unfortunately, they’re not reading this… But to the five of you who are still visiting regularly, thanks again. Feel free to buy an exhorbitantly priced souvenir as a token of our gratitude.
Turdhead.com reports record profits for second quarter of 2005
We’d like to thank our regular readers (i.e., Blake, Eugene, Lee and Gregg) for helping Turdhead.com reach the goal that so many other Web enterprises have failed to meet: In our first 13 months of operation, we’ve actually made a profit.
I’ve worked with many “This could make it big” Web sites over the years, so those who know me will understand why I’m excited about a Web site that actually pays its own bills (small as those bills might be). After years of pouring cash and nerves into creating online medical databases, technical recruitment sites, daily newspaper engines and community portals, I seem to have finally found a comfortable place of my own here on the once-wild Web.
Thanks to Google’s AdSense program and steady sales of Sticky Turds, ActionScript Jabberwocky T-shirts and Li’l Johnny merchandise, we’ve actually managed to recoup our costs this year.
Granted, the grand total of profits comes to about 37 cents so far, but for somebody who’s been placing all their eggs in online enterprise baskets since the birth of Netscape 0.9 Beta, this comes as a bit of a shock. Since 1995, I’ve spent more money than I’d like to count — riding the dot-com bubble with both hands tied to the wheel. And until now, I didn’t even get a lousy T-shirt for it.
Which is what makes Turdhead.com’s sweet, sweet 37-cent profit (and its modest success in the media this year) all the more wonderful. In this post dot-com world, this site was never supposed to make money. In fact, I figured I’d just pour a little of the money I got from my day job (It’s kinda nice working for The Man now) into the site until I got bored. This one (OK, this one and its automotive sister site, Classic1800.com) is only here for the fun of it.
And a few months later, it’s still fun. Not a big revenue earner, but in no way a drain, either.
Thanks again to everyone!
— VeryVito
By the way, if you’re looking for a way to add T-shirts, posters or other merchandise to your own site — or want a quick-and-dirty way to make your own custom stuff, I whole-heartedly recommend CafePress for the job. I’ve had good luck with them, and the quality and ease-of-use is great. You won’t get rich, but you you won’t go broke, either!
Turdhead has a birthday!
Wow. Time flies when you’re avoiding real work! I just realized that last week marked the one-year anniversary of the birth of Turdhead.com.
It was one year ago that Li’l Johnny stole the hearts of millions in what turned out to be the one-and-only Flash game we’ve published so far. Regardless, we’ve been surprised by the reception we’ve had, and as part of a self-indulgent look back, we’ll list a few milestones of which we’re pretty proud:
- Li’l Johhny’s World Tour Within days of it release, links to Li’l Johnny’s Aquarium Adventure appeared on ilovebacon.com, albinoblacksheep.com and jengajam.com. By the years end, it was the leading game in Yahoo! UK and Ireland’s 2004 Office Attachments Awards voting.
- The ActionScript Jabberwocky In August, we posted The ActionScript Jabberwocky, an unassuming piece of code/poetry that got its 15 minutes of fame after it was featured on slashdot.org. Eventually, the piece even got notice in USAToday’s online edition and spawned…
- The ActionScript Poetry Contest Inspired by the success of the ActionScript Jabberwocky (and trying desperately to cling to our former glory), Turdhead announced its first annual ActionScript poetry contest in February. The winner was announced in April.
- Multiple Sclerosis fund drive From July – September, we donated the profits from sales of our Jabberwocky paraphernalia to support my girlfriend’s fund-raising efforts in the fight against multiple sclerosis. Although our contribution was modest, she met her goal for the MS 150 fun drive, and I still thank you guys for that.
There were other high points (and low points), but overall, we consider it a successful year (feel free to browse the archives!), and we look foward to many more!
Thanks, everybody!
– VeryVito
Vote for Li’l Johnny!!!
Dunno how, but somehow Li’l Johnny’s Aquarium Adventure wound up as a nominee for the 2004 Office Attachments Awards presented by Yahoo! UK & Ireland. I’ll admit I don’t know what this means exactly, but I’d sure appreciate it if everybody would go here and vote for Aquarium Adventure!
The competition is stiff, I’ll admit, and I’m just honored to be listed… But winning would kinda rock, too.
Thanks again, everybody, and remember, help save Li’l Johnny!.