20 Years of The First Echo: My Journey Through the Blogosphere

Back in 2006, I started this blog and eventually bought the domain TheFirstEcho.com to create an official destination for what you're currently reading. 

This website was, at first, a culmination of all the personal updates I would email to friends and family on the East Coast (and elsewhere) when I was still an L.A. newbie. They took on the form of narrative chapters, some with pun-laden titles. (Hey, I was in my twenties; I could've been more insufferable.) 

My first several years of living in Los Angeles consisted of writing about my experiences adjusting to the West Coast – from bragging about the mild winter weather to the superficial accounts of my nights out at trendy venues where I spotted random celebrities from afar. Never forget the night I spied with my little eyes Miss Britney Spears sitting with her entourage in the corner of the VIP room during Tigerheat night at Arena, which is now the site of overpriced apartments, an overpriced coffee shop, and a health food market...that's overpriced.

Now, where did The First Echo, come from?

For those who may have missed the memo 20 years ago, the name is the English translation of my Japanese first name, Hikoichi...or so my late father told me. I thought, why not? It'll stick. And two decades later, it's a part of my online identity.

As the years went on, The First Echo evolved into my own little place to comment and editorialize on the pieces of pop culture I was obsessed with. Movie trailers. New singles from pop stars. Hot topics in Hollywood. 

During those early years, I also channeled all that bloggage into HotterInHollywood.com, the product of a nonprofit organization I worked with for three years. I eventually took over the content of the site, making it mine, turning it into a small media outlet that would get recognized by publicists and get me invited to press junkets, red carpet premieres, and the opening of every boutique, cafe, or alcohol-sponsored event that would have me. I collected enough free swag and product to re-gift at Christmas.  

Hotter in Hollywood unfortunately shuttered in 2016 after nine years of writing and reporting. The owners of the platform's account that web-hosted the site decided to put their money elsewhere, particularly in Bello Mag, the digital magazine that brought me on as its entertainment editor. (I was already writing for them, so it made sense to focus all my pop culture criticisms into this outlet.)

Did I mention I wasn't getting paid? Yup, I still had to rely on the day jobs I had at the time. And after seven years of managing other writers and giving the magazine free content––movie reviews, celebrity interviews, travel reports, editorials––the owners revamped the format without any notice and told me via email that, after teaming up with new business partners, my free services wouldn't be needed. 

But still, I had The First Echo to fall back on. But did I really? There have been noticeable gaps in my blog posts, and I guess that's a reflection of my evolution as a writer and an aging human living in a major city in a country that has grown increasingly challenging to live in – politically, economically, socially, environmentally, emotionally.

Once in a while, I'll use this site as a space for rants on frustrating trends or musings on, say, the state of television in 1992. But it was last fall when I felt compelled to unleash my thoughts on what's happening, not just in pop culture but in The Culture overall. 

I found myself at a turning point, unwilling to stay silent while my country finds its institutions crumbling under the irrefutably corrupt and cruel weight of an administration that wishes to obliterate the Constitutional foundation on which our society has been built. 

It is no longer acceptable to just "stay in your lane" and stay focused on the fun stuff all the time. To do so would be a major disservice to the people you care about, to your fellow Americans, to the world. We're beyond being polite about politics. In fact, we're beyond politics as we watch unlawful forces destroy lives all in the name of a vile, despicable excuse of an American leader and his evil cronies. It is all objectively wrong. 

If you're exhausted by the news, I get it. But I urge you, don't change the channel or turn your feed completely off. We can't afford to keep turning our brains off by scrolling to the next series to binge. Please do something to maintain the momentum of positive progress. Sure, you can call your local Congressperson, but you can also keep yourself engaged by keeping your friends and family engaged.

If you can't attend a peaceful protest or a march, talk to your loved ones. Let them know how you feel. Maintain a reasonable conversation with them as uncomfortable as it may become. REMEMBER: You're not supposed to be comfortable all the time. Neither are they. Ignorance isn't bliss anymore; it's a one-way ticket to darker times. Especially when we're currently witnessing truly insane shit we haven't seen in our lifetime. 

Brush up on what's happening locally, in your neighborhood, in your town. 

Volunteer your time with a nonprofit organization that is picking up the pieces neglected by a government that has gutted funding for these admirable groups – like Blood Cancer United. (Join my campaign efforts here!)

Do something. Anything. 

In the meantime, I'll keep this digital space open. 

I'll keep surviving, hoping these words echo somewhere to someone.

H.