Yahoo will be shutting down Geocities later today. Geocities started up in 1994, was purchased by Yahoo in 1999 for USD 2 billion and will finally die today.
When I formed an Internet company in 1995 with a partner Geocities was very popular and full of simple websites. The creators of these sites used simple HTML markup and usually an excessive amount of blinking and flashing text. I hated the and was always scared of getting an epileptic attack when visiting anything on Geocities. Most of the websites also lacked any sense of good taste when it came to using colours too.
Yet the closure of Geocities leaves me feeling more than a little saddened. At its height the site reflected the vibrant Internet of the 1990s as people came to terms with how to design websites and express themselves – some of my early attempts at website design were just as bad. The 1990s were a great time of change for me when my children were young and the world/Internet seemed an awfully interesting place. Now everything seems so much more organised with big commercial interests controlling things.
I don’t remember the last time I went to a Geocities hosted website but it is probably unimportant now.
Looking back 15 years I wish I had changed some things but mostly I’m happy with what I’ve done. The closure of Geocities has brought back many memories – for that I thank Yahoo. I just wish they could keep it running a bit longer.