Tuesday 12 July 2016

Revisiting J.K. Rowling's old website

If you don't mind, today we'll be using the Pensieve to travel many years back into the past. You see, I've decided to go down the memory lane and revisit J.K. Rowling's old website. Who's with me? Dive in, then! 

 
In 2004 Jo's website went through a complete makeover and became what I think was the coolest author website ever. It was just awesome and I think what made it so great and unusual was that it had Jo's personal touch all over the place. It looked like a cluttered desktop, littered with Jo's own stuff: family photos, different mementos, gum wrappers (from all the gum she used to chew after quitting smoking), her glasses, her notes, etc.. 


You could click on different things (a hairbrush, an eraser, a pencil sharpener, etc.) that worked like Portkeys: they glowed bright blue and transported you to a different part of the website. You could hear different background noises: the phone ringing, the car honking, the dog barking, the fly buzzing, snatches of a programme on Wizarding Wireless, Peeves swooshing past... There were riddles to uncover and special prizes to receive. For example, you could get these wonderful old drawings done by Jo herself: 


There was so much to explore and so many things to look for! I particularly loved its different sections: News, Diary, Biography, Rumours, Rubbish Bin, Wizard of the Month, Extra Stuff... so much extra stuff! I still upon occasion find myself rereading it as it provides a treasure trove of information that goes beyond the books and into the very core of Jo's creative process.


The biography was written by Jo herself and on each page you got to see some mementos referring to her past. Here, for example, is the first page of her story that she supplied with an old photo of her mom, her sister and herself, a hand-drawn picture of what (according to her) she looked like as a baby and a pair of train tickets (because her parents met on a train): 


Wizard of the Month section changed every month for some time. Here are some familiar faces for your viewing pleasure: 


News and Diary sections weren't updated as often as one could have wished for but it was always fun just to click on them, because you got to see different wizarding advertisements that appeared and disappeared. 


Rumours and Rubbish Bin sections were just hilarious as she parried all that rubbish that was routinely reported about her. Rubbish Bin was actually divided into: Starting to Smell, Excessive Additives, Recycled, Mouldy, Pure Garbage, Toxic. If anyone is interested, I've got all these sections preserved :D


Then there was The Secret Door. It opened once in a while, containing some new information, usually pertaining to new books. In order to get this much coveted new information you had to find and work out the clues (something I was never good at but, thankfully, many others were!).


But a real gem, in my personal opinion, were the W.O.M.B.A.T.s. I adored them! For those who don't know, W.O.M.B.A.T.s were special aptitude tests that consisted of three parts, encompassing pretty much every aspect of life in the wizarding community, and had to be taken within a certain time limit. It was quite difficult, because it was not a trivia kind of test about books but a test where you had to deduce things based on your knowledge of the wizarding world and its many intricacies, but it was fun and you got marks from 'Outstanding' to 'Troll' and also a fancy certificate. I still have all three of mine! This is the description of the tests from the old website:  
 
The W.O.M.B.A.T.s, unlike the O.W.L.s, consist exclusively of written papers. Therefore W.O.M.B.A.T.s could be sat by Muggles as well as wizards, although the Wizarding Examinations Authority does not believe that any Muggle would have the degree of inner knowledge required to achieve a pass.


So, as you can see, I really loved that old website and I really miss it. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about or am I just this old? :D

14 comments:

  1. I remember her old website, but I think everything that made it amazing intimidated me. I only went there after all the books had come out and I never took the time to figure out how to navigate it. There were so many things to click on without clear labels of where I was going so I quickly lost patience. I'm so glad you wrote this post though because now I see how awesome it was. I wish it was still around so I could explore it, but I love all of the pictures you posted of it. Thanks!

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    1. You're welcome! I really miss it, but I think I know what you mean that it was intimidating. I would have never got around it successfully if I hadn't found step-by-step instructions on The Leaky Cauldron and Harry Potter Lexicon. Those were of tremendous help in navigating it and finding all the stuff hidden there.

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  2. LOL on the 'are you just this old' comment. Though my son may disagree and think we're both old since he was only 2 years old in 2004. I remember this time frame well. A couple of the movies had come out and there were a couple books that hadn't been published yet. All of us were wanting as much information as possible about the books/movies to come. I spent a good deal of time on her website. I also frequented The Leaky Cauldron and others. I thought the site's design was inspired. It really fit where she was in her life and the spirit of the world she was delivering. I'm so glad you decided to share this! J.K. has always been so good about giving her fans so much 'extra' stuff that you don't find anywhere else.

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    1. Well, it's true - sometimes I'm wondering if I'm actually supposed to be so excited about HP at my age - but there's nothing I can do about it, right, so I just curb it down slightly and don't squeal and jump as much as I used to when something new and HP-related comes along :D

      The Leaky Cauldron was my favourite fan site. I also loved Harry Potter Lexicon, especially because they had all those step-by-step instructions how to navigate Jo's website, but sometimes I found it a little bit too snotty and opinionated. Now, though, with everything being out there on all the social media platforms, it seems like the time of fan sites has passed.

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  3. I remember this website, too! I loved how clever and interactive it was, and if it were still around today, I'd definitely be a regular visitor! Thanks for spotlighting this; it was such a treat to see the site again. :)

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    1. It was, wasn't it? :)) It was a great place to roam and navigate and whenever J.K. Rowling shared something new there I felt that it was bringing her closer to the fans.

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  4. OMG thank you for the trip through the Pensieve because I LOVED JK's old website! I used to spend HOURS on there trying to uncover every secret it contained! I wish she still had that because it was truly magical ♥

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    1. You're very welcome! I also wish it was still around. I loved all those little personal touches that she used to share there: some hand-written notes and hand-drawn pictures, bits and scraps of stuff that she liked, etc.. It was like getting to know her on a more personal level.

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  5. I loved this website, it was so fun to search through, but I didn't go on it nearly as often as I would have liked. AND I never had the opportunity to take the W.O.M.B.A.T.s which is disappointing because they sound awesome. I'm not sure how well I would have done, but I would have loved finding out! What did you receive on yours?

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    1. It was kind of nerve-wracking and exciting to take the test just to see how well you would do. I think I got Exceeds Expectations on my 1st. Acceptable on my 2nd. I remember that it was much more difficult than the 1st. But this, naturally, wasn't 'acceptable' for me, so I retook it and got Exceeds Expectations too. And I remember getting Outstanding on my 3d one and I was so proud of myself, because my certificate told me that with such knowledge I could get a post of a teacher at Hogwarts :D

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  6. Wow, this old website sounds pretty fantastic! I love that it had secret areas and riddles. Definitely sounds like something to miss.

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    1. It was amazing and I really miss it. It seems now like it was a completely different time and it was! It really was. We didn't have social networking sites and websites ruled the day - so such a great author website was a true gift for a Potterhead.

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  7. I just stumbled upon your blog because I was searching to see who else misses the original JK Rowling website! I'm glad I'm not the only one; I rarely look at Pottermore now - it seems to have lost its magic and I find that a shame.

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    1. That's so true. I loved that old website but now it feels like it was a totally different life. Maybe it was. Ever since JKR's team decided to go big with all these social media platforms and modern technologies, it lost its personal touch and - yes - all its magic. After all, we know that you don't mix those together.

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