What were the circumstances behind creating your site?

I made Cat Bounce in 2012 when I was fooling around with a physics engine in Flash. I decided to replace the balls that bounced around the screen with cut-outs of cats because I’m a cat freak. I also recognized the Internet-popularity of cats and I wanted to see if I could make something that would be a hit on the Internet. The working title of the site was ‘Internet Crowd Pleaser’ but I ended up calling it Cat Bounce because it was less of a mouthful and it was WYSIWYG (more or less).
 

What is the weirdest thing that has come from owning/running such a unique-not-really-having-a-purpose site?

The weirdest/most surprising thing about Cat Bounce is that it’s had an incredibly long shelf-life. In 2019 it won a Webby Award and I still get tons of email every week from people who either love it, hate it, or want me to make a site like it but with dogs. I also got a job at adult swim after they saw Cat Bounce, so I can attest: cats are Internet gold.
 

What got you into web development? What are you working on now?

I started making websites in the late 90’s, my first website was on Tripod.com, and it was an offshoot of one of my zines. In the early 2000’s I started making websites for friends, started getting hired to make websites, and a few years after that, I began exhibiting websites as installations and browser-based art. I still make websites but nowadays most of my time is taken up by graduate school, I’m getting a masters degree in philosophy, poetics and mysticism.
 

What is your favorite site on the internet?

Hands down, my favorite websites are Reddit, Archive.org and are.na