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Quantum Moon

I've been online since 1992.

I was twelve. I learned HTML from view-source, spent my allowance on a permanent LiveJournal account, and eventually moved across the country at nineteen for someone I met on the internet. The internet was real to me before most people thought it was.

After thirty years, I left social media — not because I gave up on what it could be, but because I remembered what it used to feel like and couldn't find it anymore. So I started building the things I wanted and couldn't find. Spaces built for the parts of life that deserve better software.

— Ellen

Ellen's LiveJournal profile for closedblueyes, showing the account was created 19 April 2001 and has 1,608 journal entries. A 25-year Blog's Birthday achievement badge is prominently displayed.
closedblueyes, since April 2001.
Ellen standing between Dawn, who has blue hair and wears a black top, and Drew, who wears a black t-shirt, at what appears to be an early podcasting event.
with Dawn and Drew — one of the first podcasts ever. Early 2000s.
Ellen and Zach Harvey in Halloween costumes. Ellen wears a white dress and yellow flower crown; Zach wears a robe and sparkly crown, grinning at the camera.
me and Zach Harvey, Halloween 2001. He was the best of us, and I would give anything to hug him one more time.
Ellen sitting inside a vintage trolley car, wearing a green beret, mirrored round sunglasses, and a green leather crossbody bag, grinning.
me.
Ellen gazing down at newborn Gavin in her arms, black and white documentary photo. A second pair of hands reaches in to hold his feet.
the one I Wished for
Ellen and her mother at a rooftop restaurant with a city skyline behind them. Ellen wears a silver sequined top; her mother has silver-white hair and pearl earrings. Both dressed up, heads together.
me and my mom.
Ellen in a white A-line gown holding a bouquet of pink, yellow, and blue flowers, standing on a wooden dock at dusk with her husband in a navy suit. Both smiling.
my wedding day.

The work

Shimmer

invite only

A private space. Invite-only, encrypted, no algorithm between you and the people you actually want to see.

Shimmer is what I wanted to find and couldn't. No follower counts, no feed designed to keep you scrolling, no influencer culture. Reverse chronological — your people, in order, nothing in between. Just conversations, plans, and the kind of connection that actually sticks. It's invite-only because trust has to start somewhere, and the person who brought you here has already decided you belong.

Shimmer is just the beginning. More soon.