In 1997 I had an idea for a website. My concept was to make a place where non-technical people could fill out a form and it would build a sub-site for them. I wanted it to be futuristic. A place or a land of the future, where people could have a digital home and connect with friends and family. My first thought for a domain name was FUTURELAND.COM, but at the time it was taken. So instead I registered TOMORROWLAND.COM. I’ve owned that domain name ever since. In 1999 I had a slight legal scrimmage with a certain theme park company, but my council helped me retail the domain name. The truth was that my use of the name TOMORROWLAND.COM was not in competition with a division of a particular theme park. No market confusion had happened up to that point – and it still doesn’t. I didn’t then and I still don’t get email at that address from people looking for something else. I get virtually no walk-on traffic. Like I said, I’ve had the domain name for almost 15 years – back before most people even knew what the web was. And for the record, TOMORROWLAND.COM, along with other web sites and intellectual properties, is owned by Bad Weasel, LLC.  It is, of course, in no way related in any way to any theme park or the gigantic mouse-run entertainment company.
As I said, my original idea for the site could be described as myspace. Â Social networking wasn’t even a term back then. In the late-80’s I was a computer programmer. Â But by 97 I had moved on to the film biz and hadn’t programmed in years. Â I tried to learn PHP and Pearl, but it was too much to write that detailed of a site all on my own. Â I worked on different modules, but never got anything off the ground. Â In 2003 myspace was launched and changed the face of the web.
Here’s a lesson.. if you have a great idea – chances are 100’s or 1000’s of other people have the same idea.  Ideas are worthless without the effort it takes to turn them into something tangible. I’ve had many many ideas that others eventually do something with. But you can’t look back with regret.  If anything it’s proof that your ideas are good and worth investing in. The real lesson is that if you have a great idea, run with it, search to see if it’s already being done, and then turn it into a product (or service) as fast as possible.
I started the michaelsmith.tv blog with the mantra of “out with the old and in with the new”. Â TOMORROWLAND.COM represents a move towards the future. Past the mistakes and shortcomings of the past, and towards making something new happen.
You will still be able to get to all of the old content via the old links. Â But please replace your bookmark with a new one. Â I’m still working on things like renewing the RSS feed and stats. Â Also the look will start to change over the next week or two.
Hopefully TOMORROWLAND.COM is easier to remember than michaelsmith.tv. Â And keep in mind that tomorrow is spelled with one M and two R’s.
Time to comment…