This blog is ten years old today. Happy birthday!
Phase 1: Blue (2004-05)
Phase 2: Red (2005-07)
Phase 3: Orange (2007-13)
Phase 4: London? (2013 onwards)
Back in 2004, blogging was still a thing people did. Believe it or not, there was a phase when the majority of my close friends kept a regular blog. I remember one night I got a text because someone’s blog had upset someone else, and having to crawl out of bed and boot up a PC to read the offending post. (Bear in mind we were also teenagers, so there was melodrama.) Even at the time, it seemed like an amusingly novel problem to have.
As has been written about many times, the world has changed since then. Text-heavy blogging was supplanted by the ease of sharing a photo, video or quick thought on the go. And the big social networks connected us more densely than standalone blogs could manage: rickety rural shacks abandoned in favour of the big Facebook metropolis.
I’m not really sad about this: the nostalgia is tied up with the nostalgia of being 14, rather than thinking everyone should write a diary. And yet, I’m still doing it. Narcissism? Probably. But I’m also a hopeless archivist, and the one person I know who is actually going to read this is Future Me. And as much as he might cringe at the writing style, having a proper home for all of these collected memories makes me happy.
Since that ridiculous first post I’ve collected GCSEs, A-Levels, a degree and (as of last month) my fake Masters. My first job, my first flat and my first proper credit in a book. Three relationships, three Doctors… all recorded over three blogging platforms, with sufficient restraint on my part to only use the word ‘wonderful’ a mere 131 times. I counted.
Plus many, many other moments I would have forgotten about without a few words or a picture on these pages to remind me. Learning to punt. Falling asleep in Berghain. Dancing to Supermarket Sweep. Mango beer. Writing for RV. Recreating Deal or No Deal in my living room. Communist cupcakes. Being mugged, and getting a sociology lecture in the process. Dressing up as Boris. Campaigning for Ken. Boston, Croatia, Moscow, Berlin, Newquay, Chicago, Cofton Hackett, California. Shark Attack 3. If you distil it all into a 200 word wordcloud, this is what you get:
Ten Years in 200 Words
All about… now? As a mission statement, that will do.
In a finally nerdy tribute to the past, I’ve re-created the (almost)-original blue theme which you can enable and browse for a limited time only before the cookie runs out. Or, run back faster.
Montage of Homepage Photos
Minor side-note: for about five years, I changed the main picture on the home page pretty regularly. So consider this a montage homage.
Taking advantage of some ‘on holiday \ crashing in office’ time to finally revamp this website. It’s definitely way overdue to admit that I’m never going to have the time or expertise to rebuild something from scratch again, and so my inner archive nerd is content with migrating everything from Nucleus CMS (so long, but thanks for everything!) to WordPress. And, for the time being, a very very standard, default, boring, minimalist theme. I’d rather keep blogging quickly than be weighed down by something complicated and outdated, and hopefully this will make me a more frequent blogger of bitesize chunks too.
So long, old home page
It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for… some key results from the well-renowned, statistically rigorously and internationally respected dominicself.co.uk Readership Census. (A full copy of the census results can be purchased, in paperback or a luxury leather-bound edition, from the official shop.) Expert commentary has been provided to assist you in knowing how you’re supposed to react.
Hogwarts Sorting By House
Which Newspaper Would You Be?
A Sophisticated Crowd
Views Of Jeremy Clarkson
Expert Commentary: Fascinating results here, and a very clear trend: attraction to Macs significantly reduces appreciation of Clarkson’s presenting skills. We can only speculate as to why this might be the case. One theory is that over-exposure to Macs could be stimulating excess supply of the chemical in the brain which causes haughtiness; another is that it is less to do with Mac use per se and more a side-effect of susceptibility to Apple’s advertising, which is thought to rely on irrational negativity towards more primitive human beings. In either case, this data will surely fuel the ongoing debate around whether Mac use is truly a ‘healthy lifestyle choice’, as its proponents claim, or a potentially dangerous addiction which could damage long-term enjoyment of motoring-based light entertainment shows.
Capital Concerns
And a note of severe caution on the Jubilee line results: we are not suggesting, of course, that members of all houses do not vastly favour the Jubilee line for its evident superiority and top range of fabulous destinations. Rather, as Gryffindors are known for their bravery, they are likely to be most adept of any house members at resisting the bullying and intimation inflicted on Jubilee line fans by a very small minority of malcontents.
In honour of the census, I have prepared an important survey of my own. Do answer, as it will only take a minute or two, and will help dominicself.co.uk to plan our services appropriately in the coming years. Plus, failure to complete the readership census will be considered a statutory offence should I ever form an independent nation state.
Helen on It’s (waiting) time.: “Fabulous news, congratulations to you both! X” Jun 8, 21:51
