Memories. They are all we collect of the experiences in our lives. And boy, does life go by quickly! The most memorable experiences tend to be of the first time we did something. First steps. First birthday (ok, I dont recall these first two.) First day at school. First kiss. First job. As I prepare to celebrate the 20th anniversary of my first website, I am looking back on my journey with technology and the internet, and I’m recounting some of the more significant firsts I have experienced. You may recall the first time you powered on your computer; the first time you dialed in or connected to an online service; or the first time you posted on a social media account. I thought it would be fun to walk down memory lane and remember some of these times. And then I want to hear from you to discover when your firsts took place. 1980 – This is where it all started. In 1980, I spent my hard-earned savings from working at the mall food court ($2.65/hour) to purchase my first computer, a TRS-80 Model 1 with 4K of RAM and a tape cassette player for a storage device. Hard drive? Those were WAY to expensive? My mother asked me “What are you going to do with a computer?” Needless to say, she’s figured it out and has a popular website of her own at TravelsWithSheila.com. This also marks the year that I first dialed into an online service. With my 300 baud coupler modem, I would connect to Bulletin Board Services (BBSes). Hosted by individuals on personal computers, these services were the grandfather to all social media. 1991 – 1992 – It’s difficult to recall exactly when I signed up for America Online (now AOL), but I was on version 1.x on my home PC. I also had accounts with Prodigy, Compuserve, Delphi, GEnie and Sierra Online. I was clearly hooked. 1995 – Registered on July 20th of that year, WorldVillage.com was my first website. It became the launching place for many successful businesses. Unfortunately, the site has been neglected and I am in the process of retooling it for a 20th anniversary relaunch with a new mission. The domain has thousands of pages indexed in Google and has only had one owner. I think that’s pretty nifty. 1996 – 1997 – I’ve been shopping online for what seems like my entire life. But the truth is I made my first purchase from Amazon.com around 1996-97. I believe I started a new account in 1999, which is why my history shows purchasing going back to that time. Amazon is received a TON of money from me over the years. But I also made a lot from them in 1999-2005 when my site, DealofDay.com, was popular (I’ve since sold this property.) As an early Amazon Associate, I generated commissions from linking to products that others would purchase. Ah, yes… the good old days. 1998 – First time I sold one of my businesses was when Yahoo! purchased ClassicGames.com. It became the foundation for what is known today as Yahoo! Games. It was also my first seven-figure deal. 2005 – I don’t really remember signing up for LinkedIn, but according to my profile I’ve had my account since August 30, 2005. Wow… that’ll be ten years this August. 2006 – I uploaded my first YouTube video on September 29, 2006. It was video that my friend Mike Stewart created to promote my book, The AdSense Code. 2007 – May 17, 2007 found my posting my first tweet. Who knew I would end up writing the top-selling book on the subject? Not me! I also joined Facebook in 2007. It’s hard to tell which post was my first since I know I’ve tagged with various dates, but it appears that it was July when I posted Rick Raddatz and Mark Widawer of my friends Rick Raddatz and Mark Widawer when they visited my home. I guess 2007 was a big year, because that’s also the year I bought my first iPhone. I’m one of the guys who spent $600 for the device, and I have no regrets. I’ve owned just about every version of the iPhone since that time and currently carry an iPhone 6. 2008 – On March 26, 2008, I broadcast my first live-stream using UStream.tv. For the next couple years, I broadcast Joel Comm LIVE with Dan Nickerson by my side. I linked the first one above, but I thought I would embed one of my favorite episodes of the show for you to enjoy. From time-to-time, a special guest would drop in on me in Northern Colorado. In April 2010, Mari Smith was my special guest, and we had a great time playing music on our iPads. There have been numerous other firsts on my journey through technology and the online world, but these are just a few of the highlights. What about you? Please share some of your technology and online firsts in the comments below!
↧