A Lesson in the History of RW/RR Websites
Pre-Historic Era
Where would the Blog be without its predecessors? With something as simple as an internet
site, it's hard to believe that the Blog has years of history behind it. With the premiere
of The Real World on MTV in 1992, the internet was beginning to spread like wildfire
through the world. Many had not even heard of the World Wide Web, nor had even known that
the Real World had an online presence. Soon after the first few seasons of The
Real World had aired, Bonnie Burton had come onto the scene.
Burton, the creator of Grrl.com began what
was known as The Real World and Road Rules site. Burton, who started the site in college,
began to archive and document the episodes of the show, and quickly became an insider of the
series, befriending several castmembers. After several years of maintaining the site, Burton
bowed out of the game, but she was known and is still known throughout the Real World
and Road Rules community as the one who started it all.
The Historic Era
Around the end of Burton's run, the community furthered expanded into different alternatives.
For the first time, there were other sites other than Burton's who came onto the scene. Two
sites came into prominence, The Real World Web and Road Rules Online. Both sites, ran by Paco
Calderon and Kelly Ann (respectively), garnered attention for their creative web design and inside
information on the shows. For a short time, both websites began to work together in order to coordinate
news and information. Soon after Bonnie Burton left the game, these two sites picked up where
Burton left off. Because of Burton's absence, Carla Maganinho began
Tubescan, which still exists today under different
owners.
The Blog Begins
During this period, a new type of characterization hit the online community. For the first time,
dozens of fans were devoting webpages to both The Real World and Road Rules. You can
still find some these sites online today, dormant but evidence of the fan presence at this time.
The Blog came online in 1998 simply known as The Real World Hawaii and Road Rules Semester At Sea Website.
In the first week of being online, we reached an impressive 500 visitors a day. What simply began
as an episode guide and a rumor mill, the website began to quickly evolve.
Changing Faces
Soon after the seasons ended, we changed our name and design to be known as the Real World/Road Rules
Network. After less than a year as the network, we changed our name to The Real World Road. During this time,
both The Real World Web and Road Rules Online both signed off. Although there had been several attempts
to come back online since then from both websites, both never managed to make it back. For two years we
The Real World Road remained on the scene, with a few websites that came and went.
The Reality Explosion
After 2000, reality television exploded into the mainstream networks and The Real World was beginning
to be considered a classic. In 2001, The Real World Road signed off for about a year or so. Although no
official announcement was ever made, the website remained and still remains un-updated.
In June 2002, the Real World Road was let go and we were brought back as The Real World Road Rules Blog.
The Blog officially made its debut with a rocky start, but we eventually climbed our way back. Since June 2002,
we have had over nine million visitors come to the Blog, an unprecedented success. And today, we still provide
you the best, up-to-date news on The Real World and Road Rules.
Contact: newrwroad@hotmail.com
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