This is the Internet presence for myself, Richard Geib. It has been in existence since October 9th, 1996 and is where I work out, in a semi-public forum, my thoughts and thinking. I never quite know what I think until I have taken the time, trouble, and discipline to write my thoughts down. Hence, I write primarily for myself, but I write in a public space. Simple enough?
Most of this site was created in the early days of the Internet when I was in my middle and late twenties. Frankly, it was also a creative way to cope with the trauma surrounding the death of my mother at that time, as well as trying to work out who I was as a younger man. Who was I? What thoughts did I think worth thinking? What did I know? What was the true and the beautiful? I always held the spirit of Michel de Montaigne, and his spirit of introspection in “que sais-je?” (What do I know?)
During my thirties and forties I mostly worked, and my work on the Internet was in professional spaces; and my personal webpage mostly languished. I built my career, got married, and started a family. I was busy. My posting on my personal site were few and far between.
Now well into my fifties, I write only on my blog and update my yearly resolutions. Much of my website I barely touch or look at. But I semi-continuously write for my blog, which serves as a diary of sorts. When I have a quiet moment and something on my mind, I sit down and write. I tell almost nobody, not even my immediate family; the results sometimes show up on my blog. When I finish a final draft, I post without telling anyone. If I were to share routinely with my wife and daughters what I wrote, something important would be lost. I want this space just for myself. In a noisy and chaotic world, there I find peace and clarity. Yet the irony is that I post it online.
In the age of mass social media I eschew posting on large networks, so few visit my webpage anymore. Hence, I have a certain sense of freedom here. I like it. The trend today is to post pithy or confrontational memes on Twitter or Instagram to garner eyeballs and gain attention in a social media ecosystem. I post essays in a diary format mostly for an audience of one — so it goes with this living Internet experiment of almost two and a half decades, and still going strong. I hope to continue it until I die. My site recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. Hurrah! Maybe 25 more years?
Maybe it is the natural interplay of change and continuity in any human life witnessed over time in one Internet domain — my webpage, which has many layers, putting much in plain sight, if one is willing to dig.
And so, gentle reader, enjoy my words in this spirit!
And welcome to my domain.
