The tech world was abuzz with Facebook news yesterday, but only in part because of the the unveiling of Facebook Home, an immersive homescreen feature that will appear on the upcoming HTC First smartphone.
In my opinion, the more interesting Facebook story came from a site called Hacker News, which found and posted what appears to the Angelfire site of a 15-year-old Mark Zuckerberg. Now, it could very well be a hoax, but the meager site serves as an artifact of sorts with glimpses into how a young Zuckerberg viewed the Internet and its potential. (“As of now, the web is pretty small. Hopefully, it will grow into a larger web.”)
Love him or hate him, Zuckerberg will be remembered as one of the key figures of a generation. His Angelfire site amounts to the early of a young inventor.
After checking out the site, I was left wishing that vintage Internet was a thing. Think about it: Modern fashion is usually just a reboot of two-decade old trends. Each year, movies are remade with stunning frequency. Older music still gets the same affection (if not more) than recent releases. Have you ever seen an older man react to a ’57 Corvette? When I visit the still-active Space Jam website, I get the same feeling.
If a brand has been online for 10+ years, they should at least consider reviving an early iteration of their website for some easy talk value. By now, millennial and Gen-X’ers have been online long enough to be sentimental about the early Internet. Frankly, I would trade social media-integrated features on my smartphone for more old-school websites online.