GENRE ONLINE.NET Fourth Anniversary Address
Since October 29, 1999 I have been reviewing media almost exclusively for my website “GENRE ONLINE.NET,” but it is still hard for me to believe that four years could pass by so fast. I started reviewing films a year before for several other websites and after that year I decided to go it alone. Originally the site was simply called “GENRE” in it’s first incarnation, but once I realized someone already had the rights to that publication name I changed the name of the site to “GENRE ONLINE.” For the first two and a half years I published the reviews using America Online’s free web space. When support for Personal Publisher by AOL ended, I reluctantly moved the site to AOL’s free Hometown web space and figuring that most genre films spawn sequels, I changed the name of the site slightly to “GENRE ONLINE II” until I finally felt secure enough with my work that I purchased a domain name and moved the site to it’s current location at www.genreonline.net and subsequently the name of the website changed to “GENRE ONLINE.NET” along with the move.
All of my reviews published on AOL’s free web space during the early days remain archived and available in three “Original GENRE ONLINE Archives” menus that can be easily accessed by simply visiting the Archives Page of the website. After four years I have published approximately 1650 media reviews with 1431 of them being DVD reviews. They are all broken down as follows. Please note that I stopped reviewing VCD and especially VHS, and Laserdisc long ago, but they are archived and can be accessed by anyone who may be interested in reading them so here is the exact breakdown in numbers to how many of what I actually reviewed in the last four years to total 1650 media reviews:
DVD – 1431
TV – 101
VCD – 77
Multimedia – 28
VHS – 10
Laserdisc – 1
CD Soundtracks – 2
I pride myself in part for actually doing everything on this website myself and keeping it straightforward and simple while still adding personal touches and insights to my reviews that often go beyond the realm of media itself and explore the nature of storytelling and whatnot. There is no way I could have ever gotten this far without the support of the major studios and independent distributors alike and their representatives as well as the networks and software developers. I also could not have gotten this far without the support of the readers, who have been the greatest teachers an Internet Journalist could ever have. They let me know what they like and what they don’t like and in the process have helped me to improve upon my work. I also must thank the kind letters of support I have received from Film and TV Directors, Producers, and Writers as well as other colleagues in this business that have encouraged and inspired me. Very special thanks to Cult Film Guru Joe Bob Briggs and Hugo Award Winning Science Fiction Novelist and Scientist David Brin for endorsing my site. I have great respect for both of these men and know they do not give their endorsements lightly so it is an honor for me that I will never forget. Finally to my close friends on and offline and my family, thank you for your unconditional support and belief in my abilities.
So that is my “State of the Union” address for this year. It might have been long and even a bit wordy, but it comes straight from my heart. Peace.
Yours truly,
Mark A. Rivera
Writer/Reviewer/Editor/Webmaster
GENRE ONLINE.NET
The Web Resource For Home Video Entertainment & More!
http://www.genreonline.net
Please drop by and visit… Thank you!