a history in words
The history of welovelaurence.com is a long and tortured one; a tale of rewrites, of inactivity, of abandoned launch dates. Come with me, reader, through the dusty tomes that make up what was nearly called "The Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen Appreciation Society Presents".
That's right. Back in the crazy times of the last millennium, mousehands.co.uk, that stoically semi-popular and occasionally John Major-obsessed site was registered. To announce this to anyone who would listen, an email was sent with that very subject line. It was long; it was unlikely; it was difficult to spell and the acronym was a pleasing TLLBASP. But most importantly it made reference to a (then) fairly unknown interior designer on a (then) harmless daytime TV makeover programme. But it stuck in a mind, and sometime in late 1999 work started on a PHP-based random content site, with a smattering of Flash navigation.
Such development didn't last long: soon the focus was on database-driven R&M and gubbins experience versions and the idea of a floppy haired, floppy cuffed site of random sentences was put, quite literally, on the back burner.
Small nuggets of ideas are often lost to the great winds of the internet, but this one managed to blow back into faces several years later. At this time, the latest thing was Flash 5, having come through the pain that was version 4 and all-new Actionscript made the minds enflame with possibilities. Due to an apparent lack of imagination, the previous colour scheme of electric-blue and black was replaced with a slightly different and retro-computing inspired green and black.
More important than the hue of choice was the expansion of things to do on the site. Three main sections were created, two of which exist to this day.
Wheel of Laurence
The remaking of the WOL is a strange beast. Previously, the number of the beast was four: four random elements, four banks of four audio loops. However, neither were ever completed, with the random content having one empty slot and one of the audio banks - then split into vague themes: dance, rock, japanese - without a theme. So it was decided to reduce by one and the current three elements was all that remained. On the other hand, with the new brought a more controllable spin methodology and a fresher look.
Guests of Laurence
Unlike the wheel, the GOL's rebirth was a far grander one. Much was added: replies, custom colours, differing view modes and the all-important spruced up visage.
Friends of Laurence
The only major non-Flash item on the as-was menu, the FOL was inspired by the then-recent latest fad of blogging; it was often called a mini-forum or microblog to describe its function. All the usual boxes were ticked: Avatars, profiles, relationships and the like.
picturbles
Friends are important, and were originally given their own section.
Wheel of Laurence, circa 2001.
Guests of Laurence, circa 2001.
