Bee Meets World – A Web Journey

My first introduction to the personal computer, my father’s work desktop. Having unlimited access to the device, while he wasn’t at home, I quickly became familiar with Windows 3.11 and MS-DOS. I also started tinkering with networking and hardware.

Skills: Hardware, Networking, Windows, and MS-DOS.

My friends and I started using IRC and discovered that you could make things using the mIRC scripting language. We started making small games, bots, and scripts. At this time I also provided support, both on- and offline, addressing various computer issues.

Skills: IRC, FTP, Troubleshooting, and mIRC scripting language.

I launched my first website, sporting the infamous CGI guestbook. I also created several hubs for gaming clans. This process taught me about the lifecycle of a website, and the importance of finding a good web host.

Skills: Templating, Web hosting, Database management, HTML, CSS, and CGI.

Wanting to improve my front-end skills, I started focusing on design. I learned about composition, pattern creation, vector graphics, and more. I frequented iconic blogs by Chris Spooner, and Veerle Pieters.

Skills: Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Design, and PSD Slicing.

At this point I was comfortable and skilled enough to start making websites for friends and family. I also landed my first client, an opportunity to build an e-commerce store.

Skills: ShopFactory, Client interaction, Project management, and JavaScript.

Having amassed several clients, I decided it was time to start my own web development business. To stay up-to-date, I became familiar with CSS3 and HTML5. Wanting more interactive sites, I decided to pick up jQuery.

Skills: Drupal, Magento, HTML5, CSS3, and jQuery.

I started to learn more about Search Engine Optimization, and offered it as a service. WordPress became my go-to CMS, because of its wide adoption, and customizability.

Skills: WordPress, CTA, SERP, PPC, Backlinking, PHP, Apache web server, OpenSSL, MySQL, and PHP.

At this point I was blessed with two great mentors. Their guidance and trust accelerated my growth and allowed me to rapidly expand my skill set. I picked up Ruby (on Rails), became familiar with Shopify, started using Linux, and integrated Git into my workflow.

Skills: VSCode, Virtual Machines, Linux, Task runners, Git, REST API, CRUD MVPs, Ruby on Rails, Shopify, SASS, PostgreSQL, Gulp, Grunt, Ruby (on Rails), and Liquid templating language.

I set out to learn Vue.js, to be able to build modern user interfaces, and single-page applications. I decided to pick up Nuxt.js in conjunction, as a framework for universal applications. At this time I also became familiar with TailwindCSS, and was introduced to Docker.

Skills: State management, Docker, Vue.js, Nuxt.js, JAMstack, Webpack, VueX, Single Page Applications (SPA), Server-side Rendered Applications (SSR), Flexbox, JavaScript ES6, and Node.js.

I was introduced to info security and the world of bug bounty. Not knowing where to start, I began searching for every resource I could find about bug bounty. I became heavily involved with bug bounty communities, and ended up moderating for them as well.

Skills: OWASP top 10, Burp, Tmux, Recon, Automation, CLI, and Bash.

My workflow vastly improved, once I doubled down on Vim, Tmux, and Linux with a tiling WM. This setup also led me to gain a deeper understanding of Bash, the CLI, and Linux in general. I started bug bounties, which allowed me to help numerous companies resolve vulnerabilities. Oh, and I (finally) launched my own website.

Skills: Eleventy, Vim, OSINT, and Nunjucks.