Creating a Domain in the Real World

In recent years the Powers-That-Shouldn’t-Be in this world have been shoving us all into the virtual realm, whether we like it or not. And frankly, I don’t like it.

I was already quite a bit behind the times, technologically speaking –– as I’m typing this post on a hard-wired desktop computer hooked up to a printer/copier/fax machine that’s nearly two decades old. (And my wired landline telephone is stationed just around the corner, with another extension linked to an answering machine.)

While I was on the cutting edge of web-design-from-scratch and the blogosphere nearly twenty years ago, I have failed miserably at keeping up with the latest & greatest of both. And frankly, that’s all been rather intentional.

I don’t want to go where that technology is taking everyone.

Designing My Own Domain

When I entered the World Wide Web and began to build my own website, it was exciting to me.

I was able to use my design layout experience, attention-to-detail skills & passion for writing to create something unique and express myself to the world-at-large.

While it was challenging to learn something so foreign to me and make webpages appear & behave the way I wanted them to, it was incredibly rewarding to see the final product functioning as I had designed it.

It was something I had made, simply by crafting a series of keyboard character strings.

And then it also was meaningful to me, because it was a message-delivery system over which I had complete control. I could publish whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and however I wanted, and that was awesome to me.

I had a song to sing, a story to tell…

My First Build

My first website, built in 2004, was MemoirsByMe.com. It aimed to encourage people to record stories from their life and then share them with the world.

I drew up a web design and wrote the HTML code for it. And after deciding what would go where and how one area would flow into another, I determined how to outfit each area and began to generate my own content to inhabit each section.

I learned about search engine optimization, affiliate marketing and started to design my own products to sell.

One of the main features of the site was to publish personal story submissions penned by ordinary people on it for free, because I believed everyone has a story to tell, and I wanted to help them tell it.

And then, people actually shared their stories with me!

But then, my personal creativity was trumped and my novel idea became not so novel anymore.

Thwarted by Big Tech

Website builders like FrontPage and DreamWeaver became available, and there was no need to code anything by hand anymore — websites could be created for you, and all you had to do was enter data into their design programs.

While these applications were certainly easier to use, and more often than not, much more appealing than what I had personally created, I found them limiting, so I never took to using them myself.

And then content management systems like Blogger & WordPress became a thing, and folks didn’t need me to publish anything for them, they could easily do it themselves — for free.

At that point I figured, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. So, I turned much of my attention away from that website, and began to blog for myself.

A Whole New World: The Blogosphere

My first blog started in 2005. It was called Memoir Lane: The Story of My Life, and I started with a post to share why I started Memoirs By Me.

After just a handful of posts, I stopped writing on that venue and began to explore a wide range of blogging opportunities.

That eventually led me to establishing & maintaining several special interest websites & blogs over the years, one of which you are currently reading.

But then, I found my way into the social media world, namely Facebook.

Social Media: My New World for a Time

At first, I found Facebook to be a godsend. It was a venue where I could connect & communicate with a whole bunch of people I knew all at once. It was an opportunity to write what I wanted to say and engage in meaningful-to-me discussion.

Given the nature of the subject matter I chose to address on there (which was what was on my mind), my circle of friends shrank rather quickly. But then it began to gradually grow, as I found others of like-mind who were interested in the kinds of things I wrote about.

And for a time, it was great. I felt connected — connected with people I believed “got” me and appreciated me.

Unfortunately though, most of those newfound friends lived nowhere near me, and they weren’t willing to move to where we were (& we weren’t moving to be closer to them).

So, my social life in the physical world was near non-existent…for a long time. And I knew that wasn’t sustainable. I needed to make a change.

Turning Back to the Real World

While we continued to build our homestead, we chose to make some changes that would provide me & my kids an In-Real-Life social existence and an alternate way of life — and that lasted for a little over a year.

But then March of 2020 happened, which brought us back to where we were before those changes, and a new change started taking shape.

We began to realize a bit more of what we had been longing for so many years prior, putting into use facilities & gardens we had designed to share with people in our physical midst.

And I had people around me in real life — other people we could share our lives with. This was huge.

Our In-Real-Life Domain

Through a steady application of measured steps going forward (& the turning tide in society-at-large, post-2020), we have continued to shape the world we desire for ourselves.

Venturing out onto the World Wide Web in 2004 and making my own splash in various circles over the years was beneficial for me in numerous ways — I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.

However, my heart’s desire is to continue to concentrate more on designing & developing my own domain offline — in the real world, where I believe I can better blossom as a human being, and where I can connect with & positively impact people (& be positively impacted by them) in real life.

I find it far more rewarding to partner with the Creator, along with my husband, children and all those who choose to collaborate with us, to customize our own unique place within it.

Again, it has been challenging to learn something so foreign to me, yet it has been incredibly rewarding. And this domain’s purpose, design & function have all been particularly meaningful to me because we’ve shaped it as a family (and we continue to do so).

Our customized world may be smaller in comparison to the world-wide-web, but I find it to be much grander because it tells the story of our life together.

Everyone Has a Story to Tell

I pray more & more people recognize their intended design & potential to create an amazing domain for themselves in the Natural World alongside the Maker of it.

We all have a story to tell. And these life stories are not just words to be churned out on a keyboard. They can be told in and through our respective worlds which we make for ourselves.

If you’d like to: share a bit of your story with me, come into my domain for a time, and/or invite me into yours, please reach out to me or comment below. I’d love the opportunity to connect with you. 🙂