- 7,309
- 28,661
- Joined
- Dec 8, 1999
I still have the email.
On December 8th, 1999, my friend Nelson C (friendships forged online were still a novel concept in the 90's) asked me if I'd be interested in helping him with a new message board for sneaker fans.
We were both fed up with the atmosphere on the NikePark message board, our regular hangout which had, by that time, become plagued by childish squabbling, misinformation, impostors, pornography, and White supremacist hate speech. It seemed to us that if hatred could snowball, and, indeed, that was the cautionary lesson of NikePark, then so, too, could friendship.
"I know it's no big deal or anything," he wrote, "but I think it can improve the internet shoe scene."
In the fifteen years that followed, I'd like to think we've done more than that.
Nelson's greatest innovation with NikeTalk wasn't the platform - which was ahead of its time in 1999 but quickly became an obsolete hindrance rather than a competitive advantage. It wasn't the apt name he'd given it or the distinctive Chicago Bulls color scheme. Unlike its precursors, which were all individual fan sites that placed their creators at the forefront, NikeTalk was a team effort - and the focus was not placed on the site's creator or its staff, but its members. NikeTalk was not designed as a website. It was designed as a community.
NikeTalk is a black background against which you, the community's true stars, can shine.
That is the innovation of NikeTalk.
Nelson C didn't invent social media. He didn't create the message board. He did, however, create the first true online community for people like us, one founded on the principles of mutual respect.
The history of NikeTalk isn't his story, or my story, but our story - written by thousands of authors across literally millions of pages, all bound together by common interest.
Over the course of the next week, we'll celebrate our 15th anniversary in true NikeTalk fashion by deciding, as a community, where to donate $15,000. You'll be able to choose via poll from among all of the organizations we've supported in the past five years.
Throughout the day, I also plan to check back in here to share some images from our archives as we look back at the history of our community.
Some more of our old friends plan to stop by, too, so I hope you'll stay with us and continue sharing your thoughts on the occasion and your favorite memories.
On December 8th, 1999, my friend Nelson C (friendships forged online were still a novel concept in the 90's) asked me if I'd be interested in helping him with a new message board for sneaker fans.
We were both fed up with the atmosphere on the NikePark message board, our regular hangout which had, by that time, become plagued by childish squabbling, misinformation, impostors, pornography, and White supremacist hate speech. It seemed to us that if hatred could snowball, and, indeed, that was the cautionary lesson of NikePark, then so, too, could friendship.
"I know it's no big deal or anything," he wrote, "but I think it can improve the internet shoe scene."
In the fifteen years that followed, I'd like to think we've done more than that.
Nelson's greatest innovation with NikeTalk wasn't the platform - which was ahead of its time in 1999 but quickly became an obsolete hindrance rather than a competitive advantage. It wasn't the apt name he'd given it or the distinctive Chicago Bulls color scheme. Unlike its precursors, which were all individual fan sites that placed their creators at the forefront, NikeTalk was a team effort - and the focus was not placed on the site's creator or its staff, but its members. NikeTalk was not designed as a website. It was designed as a community.
NikeTalk is a black background against which you, the community's true stars, can shine.
That is the innovation of NikeTalk.
Nelson C didn't invent social media. He didn't create the message board. He did, however, create the first true online community for people like us, one founded on the principles of mutual respect.
The history of NikeTalk isn't his story, or my story, but our story - written by thousands of authors across literally millions of pages, all bound together by common interest.
Over the course of the next week, we'll celebrate our 15th anniversary in true NikeTalk fashion by deciding, as a community, where to donate $15,000. You'll be able to choose via poll from among all of the organizations we've supported in the past five years.
Throughout the day, I also plan to check back in here to share some images from our archives as we look back at the history of our community.
Some more of our old friends plan to stop by, too, so I hope you'll stay with us and continue sharing your thoughts on the occasion and your favorite memories.
Happy Birthday
