We're Turning TEN YRS OLD! - Wild Texas Forums: Parks, Travel & Recreation

Shannon · 10-19-2004, 03:05 PM

I know it's only late October, but it's not too early to say, "Thanks, everyone, for another terrific year with WildTexas.com!"

The coming year is especially notable because:
We turn TEN YEARS OLD in 2005!
:eek:

:cool:

We originally launched in 1995 under the name "South Texas Outdoor Recreation Pages" covering only parks near our home in San Antonio, Texas. Soon, that was not enough -- we wanted to explore further afield, and we wanted to share those trips with others as well. In 1997, we obtained the WildTexas.com domain name and we've been focusing our efforts statewide ever since. We have come a long way, and have a long way yet to go -- there are so many ideas and plans we have for the website, and with your support (sharing knowledge, inviting friends to our site, making suggestions or letting us know when something doesn't seem quite right), we will ensure WildTexas.com remains the premier Texas parks, travel and recreation website online.

Thanks for ten wonderful years, gang!

ploddinTod · 10-19-2004, 03:52 PM

And thank you for all the hard work you put into this wonderful site. :yes:

lost_but_found · 10-19-2004, 04:43 PM

I really appreciate the hard work as well. I have found quite a bit of useful information here, as well as met some really good people. Thanks!!!

:idea: Can I make a suggestion though?
Since there are quite a few photographers, and wanna-be photographers (like me) here, maybe you could set up a challenge once a month that we could all compete in. For no real prize other than more experience and bragging rights for the next month.

Cube · 10-19-2004, 05:36 PM

Gracias, Bonita Senorita!! :cool:

Shannon · 10-19-2004, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lost_but_found

I really appreciate the hard work as well. I have found quite a bit of useful information here, as well as met some really good people. Thanks!!!

:idea: Can I make a suggestion though?
Since there are quite a few photographers, and wanna-be photographers (like me) here, maybe you could set up a challenge once a month that we could all compete in. For no real prize other than more experience and bragging rights for the next month.

The photography challenge is a terrific idea! Let me noodle with that a bit and I'll see what we can do. There are some relatively low-cost but fun options available to us for prizes, so it wouldn't have to be just for bragging rights, though those are always good.

There's a saying in the flying community -- "A good pilot is always learning." The same is true of photographers... A photography challenge would be a great way to reinforce that lifelong learning mentality.

Shannon · 01-09-2005, 07:45 PM

While I know WildTexas.com, my eldest website, turns ten years old this year, I do not know its actual birth date. I'm a bad parent. I guess since the gestation period and "birthing" process of a website are, well, perpetual, it never occurred to me to mark the official date the site went online. That's my excuse, anyway!

The domain name itself isn't ten years old, but the site's concept was already germinating in early 1995 on a free web account a local entrepreneur provided. The offer went something like this: "I'll give you a free web account if you'll put up some pages about your travels. It'll help drive traffic to my site." "But I don't know HTML!" "Well, it's time to learn, then, isn't it?" So, I began learning, as I always do.

I didn't understand online branding very well, so I chose the impossibly long and overly limiting website name of "South Texas Outdoor Recreation Pages," which over time got munged into the acronym "STORP". Of course, only my closest friends and I really felt geeky enough to use the acronym in actual conversation. After all, it sounded like "Stork" or "Strip" or "Stop", only the latter of which is remotely effective as a mnemonic for a travel and outdoor recreation website.

Within a couple years, the website had outgrown my first web host (irking him to no end, judging by the colorful metaphors my request to move generated). I'd found myself investing more and more time, creativity, and ambitions into the little project; the website needed to grow, and it needed to move on to do that.

As a college student, I was all about getting something for nothing. So when another, competing, ISP -- with faster servers and a more feature-rich service offering -- dangled a free Internet account my direction, I siezed the opportunity. I also finally realized the value of a domain name with less than ten syllables, and registered WildTexas.com with Network Solutions. That date, I do remember (thanks to online DNS records) -- May 29, 1997.

My eldest website is ten years old. Holy cow, how did that happen? ...probably the same way I ended up running a hobbiest Bulletin Board System, "Tranquility Base BBS", from 1990 to 1995 -- one keystroke at a time!

So, Happy Birthday, Wild Texas -- you've come a long way, baby!

(If I can find my old index page somewhere, I'll post it so I can be suitably embarassed. And before you try the Wayback Machine, that won't help. I was all about properly migrating sites, so all you'll get is a manual redirection page to the present-day WildTexas.com!)

A huge "Thank you" to everyone who has visited WildTexas.com over the years, emailed us, contributed to our forums and just all-around made this a wonderful adventure and learning experience!

This was crossposted to my personal web log, GeekHabitat.com.

vettech2112 · 01-10-2005, 12:59 PM

Shannon,
I want to tell you how glad we all are you've put so much work and dedication into this site. As a novice hiker, photographer, and now equestrian, this site has helped me in so many ways. I've gotten tips on where to hike, packing tips, food tips, and help from locals on my relocation dillemas. My photography skills have been boosted dramatically by your advice and seeing by example how it should be done. You've built a great community and I am honored to be a part of it.

Among my "RealLife" (tm) friends, I refer to you as one of my "good net friends" and hope one day to finally get a chance to thank you in person for all you've done here.

Congrats on 10 years! <big hug>

ploddinTod · 01-10-2005, 06:56 PM

So, Shannon, you call yourself a geek?? That kinda reminds me of a Rick James song. So in honor of your 10th Anny, let me humm a bar or so. "She's a geek, she's a super geek. She's super geeky.............."

But in all seriousness, you have made your hobby our pleasure. Many thanks.

Shannon · 01-11-2005, 12:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vettech2112

Shannon,
I want to tell you how glad we all are you've put so much work and dedication into this site. As a novice hiker, photographer, and now equestrian, this site has helped me in so many ways. I've gotten tips on where to hike, packing tips, food tips, and help from locals on my relocation dillemas. My photography skills have been boosted dramatically by your advice and seeing by example how it should be done. You've built a great community and I am honored to be a part of it.

Among my "RealLife" (tm) friends, I refer to you as one of my "good net friends" and hope one day to finally get a chance to thank you in person for all you've done here.

Congrats on 10 years! <big hug>

Shucks, I don't normally get all mushy in the knees but that kind of sweet-talking (and a big hug to boot!) will do it every time. :yes:

I plan on joining the "Wild Texas crew" and their compadres on a backpacking trip at some point, so I hope you all keep me in the loop. I'm not going through 2005 without taking my inaugural backpacking trip, and I can't think of a better group of folks to do it with than those of you here. I have my new Thermarest Prolite 4 and Kelty Women's internal frame pack now (thanks to Christmas and birthday presents), and I'm ready to use 'em. And day hikes or State Park overnights are always an option. Or geocaching for that matter.

Shannon · 01-11-2005, 12:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ploddinTod

So, Shannon, you call yourself a geek?? That kinda reminds me of a Rick James song. So in honor of your 10th Anny, let me humm a bar or so. "She's a geek, she's a super geek. She's super geeky.............."

But in all seriousness, you have made your hobby our pleasure. Many thanks.

I was born a geek. To me, being called a "geek" is a compliment; a "nerd" is another story, though I have my nerd moments, too!

Justin can attest, I'm a geek through and through. For example, when we first met in person, I was wearing black high-top sneakers with neon green laces. Why? Seemed cool at the time. Of course, I was only 15. Still, the warning signs were all there! And yet, ten years later (in 1998), he still wanted to marry me. Go figure! :ribbit:

toejam · 01-12-2005, 07:39 AM

I wish I had the time to geek my own outdoors site and make regular blog entries. I think you're doing a great job! Maybe someday I'll cut'n'paste this entire site, change the colors and my name, and call it my own :ribbit:

kiddin'

Shannon · 01-12-2005, 10:54 AM

Anything is possible! I began this when I was a college student, yet didn't stop when I got a "real job" and was working 50-60 hours a week on a corporate website. Oddly enough, since August 2003 when I left my corporate career to focus on a our own business, I've had less time not more to devote to WildTexas.com. But it doesn't take as much as it used to -- she's a well oiled machine, and I enjoy the discussions in the forums as much as anyone.

PS: If anyone ever cuts and pastes the site, just be sure to leave all the Google ads. It won't be sufficient pay for the stolen content, but it'll be a baby step start in the right direction. :yes: