About the internet...
My family got a computer when I was in fourth grade. I thought it was the niftiest thing, like, ever. I did all the typical things one does when they get the internet for the first time: go to chat rooms, meet random people, play games, get involved in interactive websites.
The interactive site I got involved with was Neopets. For the sake of anyone who hasn't heard of it, I'm not giving a link, because it's a life sucker. I was active on Neopets while I was finishing elementary school, quit in middle school, then started up again when I was in eighth grade, because I had just moved ten hours from home and basically had no real life friends. Internet friends can be forever, you know?
I became involved in a guild, which is how I met Jem, who I more or less "knew of" rather than "knew" at the time. Eventually, the drama of the guild became overbearing and I quit, knowing that life need not revolve around pixelated pets and people you don't even know. My grades had slipped because of my near-obsession, and I firmly closed that part of my life.
Though, the one thing Neopets did give to me was in interest in web design. I had a site on freewebs, but I quickly ran out of space. A friend of mine had a domain, and offered me free hosting on it as a subdomain. She basically let me have free rule, and man were my sites awful. I hadOver time, though, I began to learn about web standards, started cleaning up my act (and my code), and learned what websites were really about -- giving unique information that couldn't be offered elsewhere. I'm sad to say, but I was the girl who offered the "reads," the "games," the "freebies" that weren't mine to give away as free.
Even when I did learn about web standards and get my own domain, I shirked the idea of copyright and incorporated stolen images into my layouts. But then, as I became a more and more serious artist and began doing contracted works, I realized that I would really hate it if my photos and work were used without my permission and without due credit. From that moment on, it was assured all my designs incorporated photos and drawings made from my mind to my hand. If any sort of inspiration was used, it was given proper credit.
I am now a webmaster for a few organizations, had a paid position as a maintainer, and regularly create graphical works for organizations and companies either for profit or for free. I blog on a semi-regular basis, I've learned about the joys of social networks (you can find me on Twitter, Plurk and Facebook -- check out my contact page for links), and I have an excellent group of friends. I offer consultation for web standards and accessibility, as well brainstorming for new and innovative ways to display information. All in all, the web is a well-loved hobby of mine, one I have nurtured since the tender age of thirteen, and I don't plan on letting up any time soon.
