Tiki Central 10 YEAR Anniversary is Jan 12th, 2010 - General Tiki

A aquarj Tiki Socialite SF bay area, CA Joined: Apr 02, 2002 Posts: 1125	A aquarj Posted posted on Tue, Jan 12, 2010 12:44 PM What a great milestone, and what a great community! Maybe this Internet thing might catch on! Dunno if anyone will be interested, but here's a little history of how TC has consistently exceeded expectations for me. Back when I first heard about the yahoo group, I remember thinking that "TikiCentral" sounded pretty optimistic, in the sense of really being CENTRAL to the world of tiki, which was small but very decentralized. Along with TC, I joined a whole bunch of yahoo groups at the same time, for all kinds of niche things. ProgressCity was a cool one. Even back then, TC was king in terms of the highest participation level. But it still felt pretty small, and in the back of my mind I figured it wasn't going to last long. Sure enough, all the other groups I followed pretty much died off (except for one actually, which is still active). But TC kept going! Then when Hanford created the independent forum, I kind of figured again that it'd probably lose momentum after the transition. Hey, we've all grown accustomed to seeing the slow death of the things we're interested in. That's the sad reality these days if you're into any midcentury phenomena. But TC kept growing! Within a year or two, it started to be clear that TC truly is CENTRAL to this world of tiki and poly-pop. I guess this might all just show that my crystal ball needs some polishing. But I'd like to think that it's even more of a testimony to the way TikiCentral is run, the nature of the people who participate, and also the power and depth of the subject matter itself - the imagery and even lifestyle. The thing is, the story of TC is not just one of becoming a central hub for an existing community that had previously been only loosely associated. The big story is about how TC has sparked and created a much larger community than ever existed before, or than ever could have existed without it. Not only has that community really brought life to the interest in tiki, but it's been a great icebreaker for solid friendships, and even marriages (and babies? I'm still curious if there are any TC babies!) For that, and all the hard work making it happen, I'm very grateful. I'd tip my hat, but I'm not wearing one. Maybe I'll knock my socks off! Less virtual reality, more ritual virility! -Randy

What a great milestone, and what a great community! Maybe this Internet thing might catch on!

Dunno if anyone will be interested, but here's a little history of how TC has consistently exceeded expectations for me.

Back when I first heard about the yahoo group, I remember thinking that "TikiCentral" sounded pretty optimistic, in the sense of really being CENTRAL to the world of tiki, which was small but very decentralized. Along with TC, I joined a whole bunch of yahoo groups at the same time, for all kinds of niche things. ProgressCity was a cool one. Even back then, TC was king in terms of the highest participation level. But it still felt pretty small, and in the back of my mind I figured it wasn't going to last long. Sure enough, all the other groups I followed pretty much died off (except for one actually, which is still active). But TC kept going!

Then when Hanford created the independent forum, I kind of figured again that it'd probably lose momentum after the transition. Hey, we've all grown accustomed to seeing the slow death of the things we're interested in. That's the sad reality these days if you're into any midcentury phenomena. But TC kept growing! Within a year or two, it started to be clear that TC truly is CENTRAL to this world of tiki and poly-pop.

I guess this might all just show that my crystal ball needs some polishing. But I'd like to think that it's even more of a testimony to the way TikiCentral is run, the nature of the people who participate, and also the power and depth of the subject matter itself - the imagery and even lifestyle. The thing is, the story of TC is not just one of becoming a central hub for an existing community that had previously been only loosely associated. The big story is about how TC has sparked and created a much larger community than ever existed before, or than ever could have existed without it. Not only has that community really brought life to the interest in tiki, but it's been a great icebreaker for solid friendships, and even marriages (and babies? I'm still curious if there are any TC babies!)

For that, and all the hard work making it happen, I'm very grateful. I'd tip my hat, but I'm not wearing one. Maybe I'll knock my socks off!

Less virtual reality, more ritual virility!

-Randy

Post #503886 by aquarj on Tue, Jan 12, 2010 12:44 PM