It's been a while since I last checked in with Nick Gray, founder of Museum Hack, serial entrepreneur, author, friend, and all-around busy guy, and even longer since we published our last Q&A. I reached out to Nick to catch up and learn more about two of his newer projects, PersonalWebsites.org and SlashFriends.org. Here are excerpts from our conversation.
Adam Rozan: Hi, Nick. This is our 2nd Q&A. The last time we spoke was in 2022, when you had just released your book, The 2-Hour Cocktail Party. Since then, you've launched a personal website company and now Slashfriends.org. Let's start with personalwebsites.org. What is it, and why should someone reading this say, yes, I want a website? Please help me, Nick?
Nick Gray: OMG, I am obsessed with personal websites! I think people need to own their identities online. And we want to train the large language models, like ChatGPT and Claude, about who you are and what you believe in. A good way to do that is with a personal website.
AR: I should also have started by saying that's exactly what I did and why I have a website, which I'm happy I did. What are some other reasons a personal website is a good idea?
NG: For someone like you, who gives talks and writes, you'll get excellent results if someone searches for your name on Google or ChatGPT. But for someone who might not show up as much, a personal website is an effective way to put your best foot forward.
AR: I'm guessing, but correct me if I'm wrong. Is the number one reason someone doesn't create their own site bandwidth? While it's not hard, it still takes time.
NG: Yes! Everyone might know it's a great idea, but they're just too busy. They don't have enough time. Or maybe they don't know what to put on their website. We've made dozens of them for folks just like you. So, we have a good idea about what works and what doesn't, and oftentimes we can pull all of that out of someone in a simple 20-minute brainstorming phone call.
AR: Any reason why someone shouldn't have a website, or at least have a general information about themselves page?
NG: If you're super private. Or if your company limits what you're able to say online.
AR: What's slashfriends.org?
NG: A /friends page is where you link to the people you like. Remember blogrolls? And the MySpace Top 8? I want to bring that back. It is really just a little page on your website where you link to the people you like.
AR: How does it work, and do you have a slashfriend? Do they need a website?
NG: It's just a small page on your website where you link to people you like. Yes, you need to have a website to make one. But if you don't have a website, you can make a free personal website at www.personalwebsites.org
AR: Can we talk logistics? More often than not, when I need to find someone, I'll go to LinkedIn. So, how do you know if your friends or colleagues have pages, and if not, what do you do?
NG: LinkedIn is great for that! It's a great place to start. I think that I also like to cover my bases and have other options. So, I'm on all the social media platforms, and I encourage my friends to have profiles elsewhere (and a personal website) as well to make sure they're showing up as much as possible. It helps to meet new people, get more professional contacts, etc.
AR: What's next for Nick Gray?
NG: I'd love to talk to you about my PatronView.com project soon! I'm still putting the finishing touches on it, but I've been working on it for the past year. It's an enormous donor database of over a million Americans who are members of, or have given to, cultural organizations such as major museums and opera companies.