It all started
with a phone call.
In 1999, my friend Michelle called with a simple request. Her friend had just had a baby and wanted to share photographs with family and friends back in New York.
I built her a one-page website, uploaded the pictures she sent me, and gave her a URL to share. No custom domain, no logins. Just a way for people far apart to share a moment.
That little project got my wheels turning. I loved IT and photography, and I had an early digital camera. Soon I was putting my own pictures online for my friends — after nights out across Long Island, New York City, and summer weekends in the Hamptons.
By the next morning, everyone could see the night before. Friends started asking for their own albums. Someone asked to comment on a picture. One friend wanted to advertise his motorcycle for sale. Each time, I went home and built the next feature.
During our summer weekends in the Hamptons, a large group of friends shared a house. During the week, we were out across Long Island and New York City. Wherever we went, my digital camera came along. The morning after a night out, people could already find their photos online.
Friends made T-shirts and business cards with the site address, and I handed those cards to people I photographed. Word spread, some photos appeared in local Hamptons publications, and local bars and nightclubs—primarily around Long Island—began paying for advertisements.
At one point, as best I remember, there were around ten advertisers paying roughly $150 a month each. I was still working in IT and building this for the fun of it. What started with Michelle’s request had become a real community, one request and one friendship at a time.
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