Remembering The Dot-Com Boom

 

By the late 90's, the dot-com boom hit Malaysia and suddenly things became very interesting for freelancers and media practitioners. 

I was still working in a different industry, but opportunities were abound as investors basically threw money at any sort of interesting idea, even without a proper business plan. (Monetisation wasn't key at all!)

Websites popped up every other week, declaring to be "the best" or "the most exciting" of this and that. Of course, entertainment was an easy game to get into, so there were plenty of those around, for sure.

I remember writing for a couple of them, mainly live-e.com. The work was pretty easy, I must say, but it was a lot of fun, especially with all the parties to go to. 

Others I could remember include Octopus, M-Cities and that was also the time when Catcha first emerged. I can't remember what was the page views then were like though. Or even the kind of Internet connection we used. Haha. 

But, of course the bubble burst just as swiftly, especially after the stock market crashed in the US. With millions spent on parties and fancy offices, it didn't take long before the cash ran out, and teams had to be downsized and plenty of brands basically bungkus-ed.

I then continued to write for some new ones that emerged, and even became a regular contributor for UK sports site teamtalk.com (which still exists until today). But for most, it was back to doing work for good 'ol print.

So yeah, nothing lasts forever, but for everyone back then, I'm pretty sure we all enjoyed the ride : )