I am a freelance writer and my first paid publication appeared ten years ago in Internet World magazine, May 1994. As I neared the precipice of college graduation, then-editor Daniel P. Dern gave me a shot at a feature idea I had pitched via e-mail. Since then I've written 184 published articles, many for properties you've owned and stewarded. I've been thinking about these details because I have just completed putting together an online portfolio -- www.bordella.com -- where I have compiled references and links to ten years of work. Hopefully the portfolio will be a useful tool in finding more work, which has run rather dry.

In tracking down article titles and publication dates, I found myself flipping through old issues of Internet World, archived in the local university library. I became absorbed in the content itself, remembering how much I enjoyed Internet World the magazine, not only as a working writer, but as a reader. The Internet experience at the time was one of great wonder and possibility -- you really could say it was like a childhood. Your magazine superbly captured that fascination and the excitement of the possibilities ahead.

I suppose now the Internet is like something of a teenager. Not yet fully grown, but been around long enough for some of that wide-eyed wonder to have worn off. Which is perfectly understandable -- along with that comes a whole new series of capabilities and challenges more complex than before. But there was something special in the era that Internet World magazine captured, and I just wanted to thank you for making that happen. Also, it was a lot easier on the eyes than a computer monitor!