1/07/2008

How things develop

Stephen Smith of FutureAngels.com has a little happy ten years post that includes a story of how his first trip to Cedar Rapids gave him an idea.

During that summer of 1998, I made my first trip to another affiliate. The 1999 Storm players would come from Cedar Rapids, so I went out to Iowa to shoot photos of the 1998 Kernels.

The Kernels opened their door, just as did the Storm. Broadcaster John Rodgers put me on the radio with him, peppering me with questions about Kernels alumni who'd moved up to Lake Elsinore. Many fans approached me to ask about their favorite players and how they were.

That was when the cartoon lightbulb lit over my head.

If the fans in Cedar Rapids wanted to follow their kids after they left, if Storm fans wanted to know who'd be in Lake Elsinore next year, and if Angels fans wanted to know more about the farm system in general, then wouldn't the Internet be a great way to deliver that information?

I called the other affiliates, explained the concept, and everyone was supportive. No one ever really gave much thought to their sibling affiliates, because each team is its own operation. They're not owned by the Angels, but independent business people (or corporations such as Mandalay Sports Entertainment, which at the time owned the Storm). The basic deal was that, in exchange for access, I'd post their press releases and schedules on-line, shoot photography for them for free, do some writing for their game programs and provide them with photos from the other affiliates. Done deal.

In early 1999, I registered the name FutureAngels.com and started building the site. The official opening day was April 1, 1999. No foolin'.

Remember what the internet was like in '99? Stephen does.

Back then, most people accessed the Internet by dial-up modem. Many site visitors were people in rural areas or folks who didn't have a lot of money, so the site wasn't loaded up with a lot of whiz-bang special effects. The regulars told me they didn't care about effects, they wanted content, so I've always kept that in mind as the site has evolved.

Dial up? What's that?

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