{"id":9846,"date":"2022-11-15T22:27:22","date_gmt":"2022-11-16T06:27:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.anndvorak.com\/cms\/?p=9846"},"modified":"2022-11-15T22:27:22","modified_gmt":"2022-11-16T06:27:22","slug":"anndvorak-com-turns-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.anndvorak.com\/cms\/anndvorak-com-turns-20\/","title":{"rendered":"AnnDvorak.com Turns 20"},"content":{"rendered":"

In November of 2002, I was in graduate school, earning my MLIS to become a librarian while working a full time job as an Executive Secretary at the Ralphs Grocery Co. main office in Compton. I had been collecting on Ann Dvorak for around five years and had proclaimed myself to be her biographer even though I had no idea how to research and write a book. What I had done at some point was purchase the domain “anndvorak.com<\/a>.” Even though I knew as much about website design as I did biography writing, I was determined to launch the world’s first website devoted to Ann Dvorak.<\/p>\n

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The first iteration of the site in 2002. That descriptor scrolled across the screen!<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

My computer had Microsoft FrontPage on it, so I stumbled around and managed to design a semi-coherent site devoted to the Divine Ms. Dvorak. Was it elegant? No. But I loved the Thistle-colored background and Georgia font. I amazed myself by getting the site launched in November 2002.  What was even more amazing is that I was so damn proud of the site that I overcame my severe social anxiety in order to promote it. I found that I believed so strongly in Ann and wanted people to know about her, that I could promote the website to anyone, even if they were a complete stranger. And you know what? Most people were actually interested in hearing about her and my little site. Because of her, I found my voice. I even printed out AnnDvorak.com<\/a> business cards and handed them out. <\/p>\n

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The 2007 WordPress update<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Fast forward a handful of years and the site, while still a treasure trove of Ann, was pretty dated. When I first met my husband in 2006, I eagerly asked him what he thought of my site. “It’s looks like a website designed in Microsoft FrontPage circa 2002,” was the reply. Fair enough. A year later he helped me migrate the site onto WordPress where I could actually post updates on a regular basis via the blog feature. This ended up being key to promoting my Ann Dvorak biography via the “Year of Ann Dvorak,” where I did a fairly in-depth post for 365 days straight in 2013. Not my smartest idea!<\/p>\n

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2017 redesign<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

After the book came out, other writing projects sprung up, along with parenting, so there was less time to post updates. So, in 2017 I decided the site needed a fresh look with less emphasis on the posts, so that’s where we are with the current design. Even though I don’t post like I used to, I’m still mad about Ann and continue to collect on her. It’s rather stunning that the site has been up for a full two decades and even though how it’s personally functioned for me over the years has changed, it will always serve its primary function – to celebrate the fabulous Ann Dvorak!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In November of 2002, I was in graduate school, earning my MLIS to become a librarian while working a full time job as an Executive Secretary at the Ralphs Grocery Co. main office in Compton. I had been collecting on Ann Dvorak for around five years and had proclaimed myself to be her biographer even […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-personal","content-columns-1"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t