Monday, August 03, 2009

PCJM turns 10!

Ten! TEN! I can still remember when I turned 10, on a winter day in 1977, and I told my dad in the car on the way to school that it was exciting that I now had two digits in my age. Well into his 50s at the time, he thought that was hilarious.

And now PCJM, the little Weblog I started a day or two after I got word I was about to be laid off from Twin Cities Sidewalk (which was bought by Citysearch) in 1999, is 10. It's brought me a lot of things -- friends, some national media attention -- and hasn't brought others (still working on that book contract), but if it wasn't fun, I would never have done it, and certainly wouldn't have continued for a decade.

Every time I post -- and I know I've had less time for it since Kelly arrived -- I enjoy the process. I love sharing links, offering my own twist on them, and seeing the reactions from friends and strangers alike.

The name of the blog (I fought against the term "blog" for so long, but I think the fight is over now) came from the fact that when I worked at Sidewalk, I discovered I just loved sending links to people who were of like minds. Of course the links were pop culture based, and the "junk mail" part of the name came from my trying to say that I worried people were viewing my links as junk mail, or spam. (No co-worker of mine ever said this, bless them.) So I threw that self-deprecating moniker on it and started a Weblog, so I would no longer be pushing my links into peoples' e-mail boxes -- they'd have to come look for them, leaving them no excuse if they didn't like them.

At the time, I felt like I knew everyone else on the Internet who had a Weblog. We even had a list-serv going for a while...remember that? Matt Haughey, Jason Kottke...now many of them household names in Web history (and both great and gracious guys). Now, of course, there are Weblogs everywhere, and while I love the variety, I kinda miss the camaraderie of our small world.
I remember when I started working at the Star Tribune and as all new employees do, was asked to meet with the editor-in-chief, at that time, Tim McGuire. He had never heard of Weblogs before, so I carefully explained them to him. He now writes one, for the Cronkite School of Journalism at ASU. Hi, old media, meet your future.

And the future looks bright. Even 10 years on, I have no plans to retire PCJM. There's an exciting redesign planned (I know, I know, from me, the person who's never cared one whit what the site LOOKED like...but I have help.). And there's a couple more projects in the offing, so stay tuned.

And most of all, thanks. I probably would have done this even if the only reader was me, but it's been much more fun with all of you.

17 comments:

Shawn Robare said...

Congrats, I know I enjoy and appreciate every update you make.

Omar said...

Congratulations! That's amazing!

Deanna said...

Congratulations! 10 years is an eternity in the online world! I'm always excited when I see you've made new posts. PCJM rocks!

Laurie said...

Congrats Gael on PCJM hitting the big 1-0!!! I can't tell you how much I enjoy it, and thank you for all the time and effort it takes you to keep us entertained. Hope we'll be celebrating your 20th together too!!

K.M. said...

Congrats! I love reading this every week!

Darryll said...

Hi, Gael! Your blog is often a breath of fresh air or the catalyst to a fun little trip down memory lane. I'm a recent reader add-on (about a year, now) and am so glad I found you. It's the first thing I check after I've dealt with the days emails. Here's to your continued success!

arajane said...

Happy birthday, PCJM! I love your blog, Gael, and I love that I also get to know you in person, too!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! I've been following you for 6 years and loving every post.
Thanks for what you do!

Adrienne said...

Your posts entertain everyone I know (of course, it helps to be close in age, which we are.) Thanks for hanging in there, through parenthood and everything else. I appreciate your work and look forward to many more years of pop culture fun with you.

Christina said...

Congrats! Wow, 10 years, I can't think of any other blog that's been around that long.
Personally I don't care what it looks like as long as you keep giving us more of the same!

Blast from the Past said...

Way to go! Thanks for your dedication to bring us all the great entertaining pop culture news and tidbits! Looking forward to another great 10 years (at least!)

NYCGirl said...

Congratulations, Gael!

Unknown said...

Congratulations! :)

Anonymous said...

I've been with you almost since the beginning. Keep it up... one of my few online pleasures.

Matt said...

Congratulations, from one old timer to another!!

Ann Simerson Williams said...

Sending you a Chocodile with 10 candles. Happy Birthday PCJM!

Judi Sunshine said...

Congratulations! I love your site, and have been a regular visitor for almost all 10 years :)