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View Full Version : Glenn Frey Online turns 5!



sodascouts
11-06-2010, 12:29 AM
Well, it's hard to believe, but I officially opened Glenn Frey Online (http://www.glennfreyonline.com) 5 years ago today, on Glenn's birthday back in 2005.

I really got into the Eagles, especially Glenn, hardcore in the summer of 2005 and decided that since there wasn't a Glenn Frey site around, I would make one. At the time, I never even expected to see him or the Eagles perform live, much less meet him. I just wanted to make a site that would feature him.

It started small. I spent months just figuring out and coding the layout (I had just taken a class in .css coding and was itching to try it out).

There was no message board, no downloads (except one mp3 and one video which I cycled weekly), no rotating sidebar, no "fun facts," no solo tour archive, no golf archive, no "Quotable Frey," no filmography with screen shots and video clips.... in fact, I didn't even know of the existence of some of the videos back then (ie, River of Dreams). I did have one wallpaper, about four avatars, and four icons for folks to download.

The biggest section back then was my super-thorough Eagles / Frey discography, with everything transcribed from the lyrics down to the liner notes. It took me FOREVER to do that.

Since I was starting from scratch and had so little content, I remember putting every little mention of Glenn I got through Google alerts on the front page! lol

But I kept adding content... and adding.... and adding...

After a couple years, I made the other sites, and therefore got more and more and more and more on my plate.... so much so that I kind of feel overwhelmed. I'm still glad I did them, though! Each guy deserves his own fan site.

But Glenn Frey Online is the flagship. It's the one that started it all, and it is the one I am most proud of.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this site - there are so many people who have sent me stuff and helped me gather content - and of course thanks the people who visit it and have made it #1 on Google for several years now.

And of course, thanks to Glenn Frey, whose music inspired it all in the first place.

EaglesFanatic
11-06-2010, 02:16 AM
You have done a great job with these fan sites Soda. I (along with many others, I'm sure) always enjoy coming on here! Congrats on the 5 year anniversary of GFO :yay:

whitcap
11-06-2010, 02:32 AM
Happy anniversary GFO! Thank you Soda for your fabulous fan sites and all the time and effort you put into making them great.

Koala
11-06-2010, 02:53 AM
Happy 5. anniversary GFO!
Soda, thank you for your great and engaged work for GFO, and all your other fan sites!

tequila girl
11-06-2010, 05:16 AM
Happy 5th Anniversary GFO :partytime:

Soda you've done a brilliant job with these fan sites, you should be very proud of your achievement..........and I loved reading about how it all started! :thumbsup:

Glennhoney
11-06-2010, 08:56 AM
..from the bottom of my heart...my most profound....THANK YOU SODA!!!!

HAPPY 5TH ANNIVERSARY !

Prettymaid
11-06-2010, 01:31 PM
It's interesting to hear how a site that I stumbled on accidentally back in 2008 came to be. Soda, you have so much to be proud of. I know you feel overwhelmed, but please know that your hard work is so much appreciated! Happy 5th GFO!

Ive always been a dreamer
11-06-2010, 01:38 PM
HAPPY 5TH ANNIVERSARY GLENN FREY ONLINE!!!

To quote a certain wavy-haired singer, songwriter, musician ...

"And here's how it all started" ...

I can't believe it's been five years. Boy, time flies when you're having fun. (Is that a quotable Frey saying too?) :wink: As many of you know, I have been a huge Eagles fan from the band's beginning and always had shared my love equally between Glenn and Don. However, just a couple of weeks before GFO opened, I had attended the Eagles concert in Oakland, CA where Glenn stole my heart and 'chose' me forever. So right in the middle of my new obsession with him, I was elated to learn Soda had made a fansite for him. Not too long after that, she started Flip City, which was the very small private message board predecessor to The Border. And as they say - the rest is history. It has been great being along for the ride and these sites have literally changed my life.

There's no way I would have ever figured when I got a frantic PM from Soda in November, 2005 wanting to meet up at the Sacramento show that we'd still be doing this five years later. My mind wanders back just two weeks ago, when I drove almost 10 hours to meet up with her in Louisville to see our beloved Eagles. And BTW - I still love Don, too. And Joe. And Timothy. :headbang:

Congratulation, Nancy! You have a lot to be proud of with all of the sites, but, like you, Glenn Frey Online is also special to me since it was the beginning of all of this.

Prettymaid
11-06-2010, 01:42 PM
Dreamer, I'm assuming you and Soda met through Flip City - am I correct?

Ive always been a dreamer
11-06-2010, 01:51 PM
No - we were briefly both members of another message board, but had not interacted much at all. I had posted that KarenZ and I were going to the Sacramento concert, and literally within about an hour before I left for the airport, I got a PM from Nancy wanting to meet up out there. She and Perfect Little Sister had decided to go at the very last minute. That show was on Nov. 19th. After we got back, Nancy opened the Flip City message board within a few weeks.

Prettymaid
11-06-2010, 01:55 PM
Oh...okay, got it! I don't think I ever knew that!

Lisa
11-06-2010, 05:55 PM
Thanks for all of the websites and message boards! It's a good day to celebrate!

Troubadour
11-06-2010, 06:15 PM
Nancy - you rock. (No wonder you and Glenn are such a great match!)

Your site remains the top resource on Mr. Frey and that's something to be incredibly proud of. More than the information, you add a personal touch... A warmth and humour that has brought many fans to your site, and subsequently, this forum. I thank my lucky stars that I found the EOC sites and that I joined The Border. Not only has it given me an outlet in my everyday life - somewhere to talk about the Eagles without eye-rolls and strange looks - but I have met some truly amazing people through this website. I can't stress this enough. I will treasure these friendships for life. This forum took me to Oklahoma and took me to see Don Henley for the very first time... without this site, I wouldn't have done it. I wouldn't have had the MEANS to do it. I am not over-stating this when I say, it's all thanks to you.
Here's to another five years (at least) of Glenn Frey Online!:cheers:

sodascouts
11-06-2010, 08:19 PM
Thanks guys! I appreciate it! You are making me fell all warm inside. ;)

I've gotten more than anyone else out of this site, though. It's true the only "profit" I receive is new friends and personal gratification that I'm doing something that makes people happy... but that's more than enough for me and far outweighs the negative things that occasionally happen. I'm so glad I decided to create it! And I really do need to find more time to do updating.

Speaking of time, I've been working all day on trying to redesign the site so that it looks better on higher-resolution displays and oh my gosh, it is HARD! Sometimes I think I should just grab a template but then it wouldn't really be "mine".... so hand-coding it is. It just takes so dang long!

Freypower
11-07-2010, 06:17 PM
I add my congratulations on five years of GFO, Nancy. I am proud to have contributed some of its content and to have been associated with it throughout its life. It is worthy of the man it celebrates.

Of course this is one of the site's highlights:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/ozeagle/Golf/PebbleBeach087.jpg

Glennsallnighter
11-07-2010, 07:03 PM
Well let me too add to the general appreciation of Nancy and all the work she and to nearly the Mods have done for this site. I guess my introduction to it came just about 4 years ago nearly to the day. I had seen Glenn :heart: and the Eagles live in Dublin a few months before and had bought the VBO CD and the 'Farewell 1' DVD. I'd surfed the 'Official' site but at the time it was very static. Of course as most of you know, Glenn :heart: was (and still is) my favourite, and as in Nancy's case I was disappointed that he didn't have an official website.
So one evening I decided to Google him and the first entry was glennfreyonline, which I duly went into.
I'm telling you, to read that it was 'dedicated to the man' for 'the enjoyment of his fans'!!!!!!! I felt like I'd died and gone to heaven! AND entered Aladins cave!
A short while later I clicked on the Border and read a few posts. then I realised that in order to answer I'd have to join. Well that was easy, and the rest is history!!

I too have 'met' some fabulous people on this board. Within a day or 2 of joining Kate pm'd me with information that I'd been looking for. I have also met Monique, Kate, and Stephanie at gigs, and have been in touch on a regular basis with quite a few other people. Nancy moved heaven and earth to get a guitar signed by our boys to me. I really feel connected to the people on the board and its a great place to share a trouble and celebrate a triumph, small or large. And of course to share our news, opinions likes and dislikes of our favourite band and its members without getting those strange reactions Lou has mentioned.

Congratulations and thank you for all you have done for Glennfreyonline, Eaglesonlinecentral and the Border Nancy! Here's hoping we make at least another 5 years. :cheers:

WalshFan88
11-07-2010, 11:16 PM
Happy 5th Anniversary Glenn Frey Online!

Thanks Soda for this great site (and the individual fan sites as well)! :)

sodascouts
11-08-2010, 01:41 AM
Again, thanks for your kind words, guys!

TimothyBFan
11-08-2010, 09:02 AM
I, like many of you, stumbled upon the sites by accident. Several years ago (and perhaps even now) if you searched "Eagles", EOC was the 1st or 2nd site that popped up. I'm extremely glad that you had decided to expand the network from GFO and add all the other sites.

I lurked on this message board for a good long time before I finally signed up a few years ago and am extremely glad I did. I've met so many great friends, both in person and cyberly (is that a word? :hilarious:).

My thanks to you also Nancy. If you hadn't created these sites, I wouldn't have anyone to share my obsession with and wouldn't have met you and forged such a friendship!! :hug: Besides, how else would I be able to live vicariously thru everyone's Eagles experiences?

Brooke
11-08-2010, 03:21 PM
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GLENN FREY ONLINE!

Wow, 5 years already?! Thank you so much Nancy, for all the hard work you've put in to all your Eagles sites. I can't even fathom how much time it takes to do all you've done and it's greatly appreciated. I've learned so much and enjoyed every minute and am so glad I "met" you through another site and became your "friend" even though we've never gotten to meet in person. I can remember that a photo of Glenn that you posted, along with a couple from Freypower, turned me in to a "Glenn girl" after many years of being a "Don girl"! They were so HS & G that I just couldn't resist! Of course I still love Don, Tim, and Joe, but Glenn took over my heart for good then. After that, you seemed so nice and friendly that I just had to follow you to Flip City and, of course, to here! I hope I get the chance to meet you in person someday along with all the rest of our Border Buddies! What a great community! :rockon:

sodascouts
11-09-2010, 02:16 AM
Aw! :grouphug: