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 A DREAM, 25 YEARS IN THE MAKING Thursday, August 20, 2026 When I got my first computer (that could connect to the internet) for Christmas in the year 2000, turning it on was like opening a door into a new world. It was a profoundly life-changing experience to be connected to the world wide web. Almost immediately, I wanted to have a website, too. I wanted to move in and have a place of my own in the vast world of information. My computer came bundled with web-publishing software and I built my first website. It was just as juvenile as you can imagine. If it still existed today, it would bring up all kinds of feelings of nostalgia. But, even back then, I wanted to have my own place on the internet. So, me creating a website has been a dream 25 years in the making. Not that the websites I had over the years didn't count, but I never really did have my website dream fully realized until I began working on my website network. I'm still proud of those early iterations of my website - and there will be glimpses of them and their many designs on my website network - but it finally feels like I've found myself as a webmaster the way I found myself as a writer or creative person. But, finally working on my website network and seeing it come together - in all its ridiculous, nostalgic glory - has felt so fulfilling. Part of me feels like I'm a little late to the game, creating a website (network) in the age of smartphones and apps, but I've always said I'm a luddite; I finally had to break down after almost 40 years and get a cell phone and even then, I just got a flip phone. But, even though my platform is a website - already a dated concept - I feel like there is a growing movement out there of people wanting the more simpler time. I mean, MySpace is coming back. Sales of music on vinyl have surpassed CD. Movies are getting limited released on VHS. Physical Media and appreciation for it in the age of streaming services is coming back. Even though part of me feels like starting a website today is something that seems behind the times, there's also a part of me that feels like there's a craving for the simpler times out there that is laying the groundwork for my website to exist and be appreciated. People want creative experiences now, not just another app or social media account that looks like all the others. Maybe me starting a website and it being a website network that leans into nostalgia, is happening at the perfect time. That's what I hope. With my next blog, I plan to go into a little bit of detail about some of the websites that will make up my network when it launches October 1, 2026. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
WEBSITE NETWORK PLANS & BEHIND-THE-SCENES OF ADDRESS BAR VIDEO Monday, August 17, 2026 When I was considering stopping talking on camera, I was shocked to realize the next video update I had scheduled was going to be the 2-year anniversary of the first time I was on YouTube. It was such a huge coincidence. That, and the fact that I spent time setting up a Crocheting with E.G. blog to help fill in the time between video updates, all reminded me that the website network was ALWAYS the goal. I never set out to be a full-time YouTuber. Even the first time I was on YouTube was meant to be a way to lead people to the website network that I was working on. Then when life got in the way, preventing me from launching the network and all my time was spent on my second, much more successful time on YouTube, the website got pushed to the side again. So, when this big anniversary was here and it coincided with my desire to stop talking on camera, I felt this would be the perfect time to focus on the thing I always intended to do: launch a website network full of mini websites devoted to my many creative projects and interests. The first time I was on YouTube, the vlogs I put out were all leading to the launch date of October 1 for my website network, so that is going to be my goal again this time. Only instead of releasing vlogs leading up to the launch, I'm going to release image and video-enhanced BLOGS, which will eventually become just a couple of the mini websites in the full network. I call my website network a BROWSER NETWORK because of the design and unique navigation it's going to have. You can already see the nostalgic homage the network is going to pay to the original internet experience. Hopefully if you grew up in, or just remember, the '90s and early 2000s, the design structure alone makes you think of the old browser windows we'd go to open up every day into the new, exciting world of the world wide web. But, the network's not just going to LOOK like a browser; it's going to FUNCTION like a browser, too. When the full network launches, the "address bar" at the top of the network will become active. You will be able to click inside of it and type a domain that's part of the network and load the websites from there. All the website "domains," instead of ending with .com, .net or the like will all end in .justeg. So, the Crocheting with E.G. blog will be at crochetingwitheg.justeg or my personal website will be at eg.justeg, etc... I'll explain the logistics of it the closer I get to the launch, but trust me, it's REALLY freakin' cool. The .justeg domains only work in the address bar at the top of the website network, but it REALLY sells the effect of the network feeling like a browser from the early internet. Because I knew I'd be launching the blogs here on the website before the network launches, I thought it would be a perfect way to announce them on my YouTube channel by creating a video, using crochet, that alludes to the browser network address bar. This is the video I put together: It's certainly not perfect by any means, but hopefully the effect works and it almost feels like you're zoomed into a browser address bar as a domain is typed into it. The video is 100% crochet and even the mouse clicking and typing was audio of me just sitting at my computer, trying to sync up the sounds with the video. Below is a behind-the-scenes look at the crochet elements that made up the video: So, from this point on, all updates I do will be image and video-enhanced blogs here on the website (with preview videos on YouTube), all leading to the launch of my website network - FINALLY - on October 1, 2026. This blog is where you can track my progress and where I'll go into more detail about all the many things to come in the future in the network. I hope you continue to follow me on this creative journey. I always promise to make any and everything I do an EXPERIENCE. The next update here on the website across all the blogs will be Thursday, August 20, 2026 and regular updates will be on Thursdays, leading to the website network launch on Thursday, October 1, 2026! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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