While in the middle of searching for something else, I ran across a name I hadn’t thought of in years: David Siegel.
Siegel wrote two books that really influenced me when I started learning to design web pages: Creating Killer Websites and Secrets of Successful Websites. Many people thought he was a bit flaky with his design theories. Lots of images, use the HTML to push things beyond the limit of what it was supposed to do- completely unorthodox. And time proved that some of what he did was, in fact, short sighted, to some extent.
Still, in looking back over those books, and in thinking back to those days of 1996-1997 when I first started learning to design web pages, I realized something- it was far more fun back then than it is now.
Oh, I enjoy my work, for sure. But it’s work. It’s not fun. Maybe work isn’t supposed to be fun. I don’t know.
I do remember the joy of discovery, of learning, of creating. It was fabulous. I recall the day I discovered how to use tables to lay out a page. I say “discover” like I was the first to do it. Yet it was a discovery for me- I didn’t look at someone’s source code. I was learning about those table things, and bam!, it hit me. “I can use these things to lay out a page.”
So I went to a few websites, viewed their source code, and sure enough, they figured it out too. Very soon I had a page with links on the left side, and content to the right. How original. But in ‘97 it was a big step.
And it was fun.
I recall staying up until 2:00 in the morning sometimes, trying to figure out things, building pages, trying ideas. Anyone remember hand-coding? I do. And I wrote good, neat, indented code. Well commented. The code was as much an art form to me as the final results viewed in a browser.
Now, I’m all about revenue streams and increasing traffic and worrying about competing products and developing new verticals. It involves budgets and staff meetings and planning and lots of things that seem to contribute highly to the constant, searing burning I feel in my stomach.
Don’t get me wrong- I like what I do. It is enjoyable and there is something new around the corner every week.
Yet I miss the feeling a few years ago, when learning to use a new tag or reading a new book or seeing a new site design was the fodder for weeks of experimentation. Simply for the pure joy of creating.
It sure was fun while it lasted.
Thanks, David.
