You know you've come a long way and gotten
absolutely nowhere when you appear on
GhostSites.
Yes, strange but true, I'm now officially a
"Forgotten Web Celebrity" courtesy of
blogmaster Steve Baldwin.
If you buttonhole a young person on a Manhattan street corner today and ask her "hey - what do you think of Aliza Sherman," you'll be greeted with a blank stare. But ten years ago, Aliza Sherman's name danced about the lips of everyone who mattered in the superheated temples of New York's New Media industry, and if she ever deigned to grace you with her presence on a panel, you knew you were blessed, for Aliza was the "it" girl of Cyberspace.
Despite some factual errors, it is actually
quite amusing. I love these references:
It all began in 1995, back when compelling Web content was as thin as the hairs on a baby's ass, when Aliza launched three sites...
She began wearing a hot pink cape around Manhattan; on one memorable occasion, on Wall Street, she stripped off her Armani business suit and revealed the cape to a stunned crowd, running her hands over it as if she were stroking the future itself.
So, of course I had to write to Steve, just to
thank him for the mention (any press is good
press) and to clarify a few things...
Ah, the high price of pseudo-cyber-fame!
Thank you so much for your kind words on "Ghostsites." Loved your embellishments ("she stripped off her Armani business suit and revealed the cape to a stunned crowd, running her hands over it as if she were stroking the future itself.") You encapsulated my Internet experience beautifully.
Just wanted to make a few factual corrections.
1. "She ran a large gender-specific network called "Cybergrrls" with 100 local affiliates."
Actually, the networking organization was called Webgrrls International. The company was Cybergrrl, Inc. and we consulted companies such as Estee Lauder and Avon, JANE magazine, and built one of the first custom shopping carts for the very first web site for Dr. Atkins.
2. "Then, on a dark morning in March, 2000, when the NASDAQ took its first precipitous dip towards the stygian depths, her once-glittering career hit the very same wall that pulverized the dreams of so many first-generation cyber-visionaries."
I actually left Cybergrrl in 1999 due to a business partner dispute - turned over all assets, stocks and ownership to the corporation and tried to start another online venture - Eviva.net, a bilingual site for Latina professionals. THEN the market crashed and we gave back our angel funding ($250K) and licked our financial wounds.
3. "Aliza made what in retrospect was her smartest career move: she left town and moved to a place about as far from cyber-hype as you can get: Alaska."
Actually, I left NYC in September 2000 in an old RV I purchased off the Internet and drove around the country for over a year (http://www.rvgirl.com). In the meanwhile, 2 more of my books were published so I turned the trip into an extended, self-financed book tour. The books were "Cybergrrl@Work" (Penguin Putnam) and "PowerTools for Women in Business" (Entrepreneur Media). I am currently working on a book about blogging for Adams Media and also developing a book about miscarriage and another book about my solo RV adventure.
4. Then 9/11 happened while I was enroute back to Manhattan. I took a detour and ended up settling down in Wyoming for 4 years (1st Cheyenne, then Laramie and Lander). During that time, I took a 9-5 job with state government doing PR for 2 years, started my own Internet/PR consulting firm for a year, then began producing a 12-part documentary series for the local PBS television station. I also did freelance radio work for the local NPR station and freelance writing for publications such as ENTREPRENEUR during that time. I am still a freelance writer (http://www.mediaegg.com) among other things.
5. Finally married (late 30s) and just moved a little over 2 WEEKS ago to Alaska. Recently started a film production and media company with my husband (Moonbow Productions, Inc. - http://www.moonbowproductions.com/) and am in production on my first independent documentary film - about miscarriage. I have some other film ideas in development but the miscarriage documentary - "babyfruit" - is in production.
Like one of my idols, Madonna, I continually reinvent myself, looking for ways to work independently, creatively and passionately and hopefully empowring and inspiring others in the process.
My how time flies when you're a has been...
Steve Baldwin is an angry old nobody, who has anti social tendencies. The only way he can make is to badmouth those of us who worked hard to make the industry work.
Aliza because of your dedication to the industry there are more women online. You not only made successes in NYC and did well for yourself, but also made a life outside of the industry and the city. That's huge! I admire that!
What's Steve good contribution to the Industry? nothing...just a cranky blog and bum book.
Posted by: Tery Spataro | June 29, 2005 at 03:26 PM
oh Tery, you crack me up! thank you for your support and friendship. I think you and I are the only ones reading my mediagirl blog anyway. but I keep blogging away...
Posted by: aliza/babyfruit | June 29, 2005 at 04:46 PM
Better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all.
Posted by: Glen Lipka | June 30, 2005 at 07:54 AM
Ah, the 'good old days' of the mid-late 90s in New York.
I remember going to WebGrrls networking meetings at 3 or 4 different locations, mostly in Soho, but each time the meetings were bigger. Anyone remember the initial format of meetings, where each person could introduce themselves and say what thay had to offer and what they were looking for? After a while that wasn't posible anymore, and in came the guest speakers and the frantic flurries of business card exchanging.
It seemed like a huge happening when 55 Broad Street opened and there was a whole building devoted to cyber-stuff. Everyone ignored the irony that it was the old Drexel building; these days it seems somehow fitting.
So much of that time turned out to be just smoke and mirrors, but it was a hell of a lot of fun to live through.
Posted by: fiat lux | June 30, 2005 at 08:38 AM
Is that Glen Lipka from Kokopelli with Katie? Long time! Glen and I used to write a column for Oracle magazine together. He was the techie brains behind those articles. I added the "female touch," whatever that meant.
Posted by: aliza/babyfruit | June 30, 2005 at 01:43 PM
And Rachel - how cool to hear from a former WG and Silicon Alley woman! Yeah, those early WG meetings were amazing. I was just so happy to meet other women who not only knew what the Internet was but actually had their very own web sites. Those were the days when personal web sites were just that - personal. Like blogs have become today. So many years ago...only about 10 but whose counting?
Posted by: aliza/babyfruit | June 30, 2005 at 01:48 PM
Yup, it's me and Katie. We have three kids now and live in San Mateo, CA. We have become domesticated. :)
On a strange side-note, and this is as good a place to mention as any, I emailed Clay Shary to say hi and he didn't respond. We were both 1998 entrepeneurs to watch in Silicon Alley Reporter! We had eggs! Where has the love gone?
Glen
http://www.commadot.com
Posted by: Glen Lipka | August 16, 2005 at 03:18 PM