My Web Site Turns 10 Years Old

I was a big fan of Motley Crue back in my teenage years.  I remember buying their greatest hits release on cassette back in 1991 and thinking to myself, “Wow, these guys have been at this for 10 years!  How cool is that!”

Ten years is a long time, especially on the Internet.  I registered ‘pumpkin-king.com’ 10 years ago this month - a milestone that makes me feel extremely proud, if perhaps a bit old as well.  While ‘Pumpkin-King.com: Decade of Design’ doesn’t have the same ring as the Crue’s ‘Decade of Decadence’ does, this anniversary has prompted me to take a moment to reflect on where I’ve been and what I’ve done in the time since I became the proud owner of my first domain name.

Since registering Pumpkin-King.com on Sept 2, 1999 I have:

• Posted 8 versions of the site, lovingly cataloged in a previous blog entry.
• Held 4 full-time positions in the field, with the first being at a vocational high school in Woonsocket, RI (who, oddly enough, still have the same Web site - more or less - that I designed for them 10 years ago when I worked at the school) to my current gig as Creative Director for Envision.  Additionally, I have done a number of freelance and other jobs over the years, including my latest foray - teaching Web site design at the University of Rhode Island.
• Registered 8 other domain names for various purposes, none of which currently have Web sites associated with them or are even still registered in my name.  So after 10 years, I am back to my original domain only.
• Married the woman who helped push me to give up my exciting career as a manager at a McDonald’s and pursue Web site design instead.  We have also been blessed with 2 wonderful children who help me ‘keep it real’ by asking me to eat at McDonald’s regularly.
• Had 2 children’s books published as well as a number of short stories recognized in national competitions.  These days, my writing is largely confined to my blog and my thoughts on Web design, although I frequently am asked when I will revisit my characters and finish the story I began in my series of books.  Someday, perhaps.
• Worked for hundreds of clients from the very smallest to the very largest.  I’ve been fortunate to be able to work on tons of different types of projects, from Web site designs, to magazine ads and print work, to trade show displays and large format graphics, to touch screen kiosk user interface designs, to digital signage and animation projects, to brand, logo and identity design.  At one point, I actually kept a running list of all the clients I had worked with in one fashion or another.  I stopped maintaining the list years ago.  At the time, it numbered well over 300 clients.
• Realized that I fell into the Web design profession pretty much by accident. Here I am, I0 years later, and I couldn’t be happier with what I do for a living.  Funny how life works out sometimes, isn’t it?

So happy birthday, Pumpkin-King.com.  Here’s to the next 10 years!  Enjoy your slice of cake - you’ve earned it.