How have webcomics changed the rest of your life? Whether you are a creator of comics on the web, or a devoted reader of them, I'd like you to spend a few minutes reflecting on how webcomics have altered the course of your life in ways other than the obvious ("the obvious" being that you create and/or read webcomics).
As much as I hate to invoke anything even loosely tied to Ashton Kutcher, the Butterfly Effect is essentially what this blog post is about. For those not familiar with the concept, here's a brief description from Wikipedia:
"The phrase refers to the idea that a butterfly's wings might create tiny changes in the atmosphere that ultimately cause a tornado to appear (or, for that matter, prevent a tornado from appearing). The flapping wing represents a small change in the initial condition of the system, which causes a chain of events leading to large-scale phenomena. Had the butterfly not flapped its wings, the trajectory of the system might have been vastly different."
Creating webcomics, which I started doing in late 1999, led to an interest in web design. I got a job as a webmaster in 2000, and started my own web and graphic design company in 2003. Wanting to further my IT knowledge, I went to school and just finished a Computer Information Systems degree. My experience and degree got me the job of my dreams at a company I'm thrilled to work for. Without starting to work on webcomics, I might still be sitting at a desk taking tech support calls from people trying to find the mythical "Any Key" of classical geek lore.
More importantly, having my webcomics up on my site back in 2000 allowed a girl who was interested in me (and whom I was interested in) to get back in touch with me. About a year later, I married her. Most people I consider close friends were first people who I came in contact with via creating, writing about, or being a fan of webcomics.
I know a lot of this is just my perspective, and you could say it was all just random chance, or that I would have somehow met my wife or obtained the career I wanted anyway. Maybe. But that's not how I choose to look at it.
So now I ask you again, in what significant ways have webcomics influenced the path of your life?
People who've read me already know the answer to this one. Webcomics gave me a voice.