Before Facebook there was Purple Moon
There was a time when I enjoyed buying CD-ROM computer games packaged in cereal-sized boxes. And I had a good collection of computer games in my youth. These games gave me great experience (resumé worthy experience really) in the challenges and nuances of multiple careers. I have designed clothes for Barbie, have directed her in various independent short films, and have created my own teen magazine empire.
There was one game I would play called Rockett’s World, released in 1997, which gave me absolutely no career skills whatsoever. It involved watching various scenarios of an 8th grader named Rockett.
Throughout her day the game would stop and you could hear three thoughts in Rockett’s head. You would click on the thought you liked best and whichever attitude you picked would reflect Rockett’s next moves. Here’s the intro to Rockett’s New School.
The game was released by Purple Moon and like any cool company in the late 90s they had a website.
Purple-moon.com was the original social network. In 1998 the website was the destination for cool girls ages 8-12. You could set up your own profile page where all of your interests could be viewed by other people. Here are a couple examples of what a profile looked like:
And here is what the website’s main page looked like on December 10th, 1997:
After judging people based on their astrological sign, favorite food and concerns you could decide whether to persue internet friendship or not. To initiate a friendship you could send messages, or “postcards”, to other members as a way to make long lasting internet relationships. You could also play games, which would allow you to collect treasures, like this retainer:
These treasures were then put on display on your profile so you could show-off to everyone how many cool and rare treasures you had. My friend Hannah Betterton and I quickly found a way to hack into other member’s accounts and steal their rare treasures making the website even more fun.
It was all grand, until one fateful day. On that winters day, as I stayed indoors on the computer away from the snow storm outside, I went to Purple Moon to log-in. I was anticipating the messages I may have received since the previous day, the treasures I could collect, the accounts I could successfully hack. As I snuggled into the big black computer chair I was disappointed to see this message on my screen.
I checked back periodically. Those Purple-Moon characters were outfitted in winter gear well into Spring. Purple-Moon never returned.
