There and Back Again…
What seems like just yesterday, was actually decades in the making — but what a journey it has been!
I was 15 when I discovered you could make money on the internet. It was 1997, I was designing 468×60 banner ads for strangers in AOL chat rooms, and that was it — I was ruined forever. In the best way.
Even funnier… each of those banner ads that I made, I sold them for only $1 each — and people would send me $1 in the mail! (Obviously, this was way before anything like paypal, venmo and crypto were live)
Through all of the ups and downs along the way, I’ve always been building things online ever since.
The Highlight Reel
1997: Made my first dollar online. Couldn’t stop thinking about how to make the second one.
Early 2000s: Built websites, ran campaigns, and collected email addresses like they were Pokémon cards. Grew a list to over 2 million subscribers because I genuinely had no chill.
2006: Launched a MySpace customization site right when MySpace was everything. Timing is a beautiful thing. Rode that wave until Facebook showed up and ruined the party.
2007: Started ZacJohnson.com because I wanted to share what I was learning and help other people do the same.
Along the way: Spoke at 25+ conferences worldwide. Got featured in a documentary that premiered in Hollywood. Flew my wife and dad out to the red carpet, which was one of those moments where you just look around and think “how is this my life.” Wrote a book. Started a podcast. Met and interviewed some incredibly smart and well-known people. Built a lot of things. Broke a lot of things. Learned from all of it.
2024: Google wiped out one of my biggest sites overnight. Over 100,000 daily visitors, just gone. So I did what I always do. Started rebuilding.
2025-2026: AI is changing everything and I have a front row seat. Honestly, it’s the most exciting time to be online since the early days of the internet.
What This Blog Is
This is where I write about the stuff that actually matters to me. The memories, the lists, and the lessons that come from a life lived fully online and offline.
I grew up in the 80s, came of age in the 90s, and figured out how to make money on the internet in the 2000s before most people knew that was even a thing. This blog is part nostalgia trip, part personal archive, and part “here’s what I’ve learned so you don’t have to learn it the hard way.”
You’ll find lists and stories from the eras I actually lived through, my own personal takes on money, side hustles, and different ways to make a living online (not financial advice, just what’s worked for me), and the kind of content I genuinely enjoy writing rather than content I feel like I’m supposed to write.
No guru nonsense. No recycled tips from someone who read it on another blog.
Just real stories and real lists from someone who’s been at this since before Google existed.
Enjoying the content so far? Here are some classic photos from over the years!
Say Hi
Find me on Twitter/X or LinkedIn, or use the contact page if you want to chat.
Thanks for stopping by.
— Zac