Me, Me, Me. Narcissism and the Web.

There are a whole host of reasons why people put up a webpage. Some want to become scum sucking yuppies by selling an IPO. Others just want to say "look what I did". As I write this, there are over 12,200 entries in google with the words "My First Homepage". That’s a lot of homepages out there, and most of them are probably for boring people, just like you.

My own homepage has become a collection of writing and other materials intended for the most part to make people laugh or entertain visitors in some way. I could be entirely wrong. It might all be trite, banal, and entirely uninteresting to the people who visit. But who am I to judge.

When conceptualizing your webpage, first you really need to understand its purpose. This is sort of like telling an actor to find his motivation. Your motivation might be to make a million bucks (this is not going to happen). Or you might be a complete and utter narcissist hoping for an entire digital shrine dedicated to you. Maybe you just like watching that counter click higher.

For me, I started my first homepage back in high school for no particular reason. I wasn’t exceptionally cool then, not that I am now, but at least I had and have a webpage. I personally like the idea of having a voice, even if its not a very powerful one.

Let’s assume then, that your main purpose is a combination of all the above. You are searching for a way to express yourself online. You like watching the counter. You have some hope in the distant future of retiring from the massive amounts of cash you are going to get from building a website. In any case, the first thing you need, to do any of these things, is offer some sort of intelligible content. For a personal website, this can be difficult.

Many first time web developers fall into the trap of more is better. This is never the case. Website construction is often like dropping an atomic bomb; just because you can animate a graphic, doesn’t mean you should. Glitzy graphics will only eat up your bandwidth. On the other hand, some thoughtful remarks about how much you hate web animated graphics might actually be worth reading. The same should be said for most things. Don’t use flash animation when a simple HTML document will suffice. Don’t shun color, but don’t turn your page into a Jackson Pollack either.

Most of the personal websites I consider good are the sites that make me want to keep reading. I am not suggesting you must be a Pulitzer prize winner to hold my attention, but at least keep me interested. I’m not really interested in endless pages with six word quotes from last weekend’s keg bash. (And to be honest, your high school love poems don’t interest me much either). But on the other hand, a sharp commentary on some interesting aspect of your life might be of genuine appeal.

The development of Blogs has to some extent ended the need for personal homepages. Blogs give ordinary people a voice in the vast reaches of the digital world. Blogs can also be updated frequently. The unfortunate aspect of a Blog is that they tend to be temporary. While a blog is a great way to comment on the latest Bushism or rant about Janet Jackson’s breast, they are not so good for web publishing a lengthy story on something like say—web publishing.

Narcissism in your personal webpage is okay. After all, its your personal page. But keep in mind the people who come to your site (1) are not you and (2) probably don’t know you. If I’ve just taken time out of my day to come to your site, I don’t want to see pictures of grandma last Christmas. But a short anecdote about how grandma’s dentures were lost in the Christmas turkey might make for an interesting article.

Creating a website that is of genuine interest to a large array of readers takes a lot of work. You can’t sit down one night and fifteen minutes later start having hundreds of people show up on your site. Begin by conceptualizing what it is your site will provide. A personal homepage should be personal, but not made just for you. Ask yourself: will my friends enjoy reading what I’ve written? If the answer is no, then you probably need to start over.