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A Review of George Zimmerman's Bizarre, Ambitious, Genre-Bending Website

On this day in Internet history, George Zimmerman's new website will go down as the most exclusive spot to be on the web. It's stunning, really, how long the lines are to visit it. (Even a vaunted netizen like myself took seven refreshes to get in...

On this day in Internet history, George Zimmerman’s new website will go down as the most exclusive spot to be on the web. It’s stunning, really, how long the lines are to visit it. (Even a vaunted netizen like myself took seven refreshes to get in.) Now, such hit-or-miss accessibility is the hallmark of a true hot spot, but I know there’s one question all of you folks waiting to get in are asking: Does it live up to the hype?

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In a word, therealgeorgezimmerman.com is a dive. But it’s a dive that pulls off the ‘slumming it’ motif so convincingly that you have to love it. The home page welcomes you with a giant American flag photo that makes your patriotic heart swell with punch-drunk love. It’s a statement piece, which, sure, is basically required to even be considered for the upper echelons of websites these days, but it’s impressive.

Flag aside, it’s the little touches that really make the site pop. There’s the completely text-based approach. The enormous Paypal donation button is a particularly clever bit of whimsy, so clever in fact that the New York Times’ Channing Joseph mentioned it in his review. There’s also the continually-shifting positioning of the background, and the fact that the site’s counter seems to display numbers at will. Those bits add up into a package that screams “developed by a bored 12 year old,” even as the traffic says otherwise. The “Powered by Website Tonight” badge, which suggests the software designed to help with a forgotten school project, is sublime. And the Edmund Burke quote? Magnificent!

My favorite part of the design, however, is more subtle: Hidden away at the bottom of the page is “Content copyright 2012. . All rights reserved.” What grace! Many sites have tried to recreate the vagabond whimsy of halcyon Geocities days, but where they’ve failed is incorporating touches like these. The extra period really adds to the vibe, but it’s the wonderful interplay between the stolen flag image and the claim to copyright that really is the sites magnum opus.

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But a site’s road to becoming an Internet mainstay isn’t just about intelligent design. It’s got to offer substance. As you’d expect, Zimmerman’s site content plays into the site’s styling. And like the design, it plays those notes beautifully. I particularly like the bluntly-named “The Facts” section, in which Zimmerman’s passion for simplicity shines. While most people might expect Zimmerman to lay out his own vision, he offers another well-worn quote and a superbly-literal take on the idea of “The Facts” themselves:

“People have a right to their own opinions, but not to their own facts. Evidence must be located, not created, and opinions not backed by evidence cannot be given much weight” – James W. Loewen I am grateful to my friends that have come to my aid, whether publicly or personally, never questioning my integrity or actions, understanding that I cannot discuss the details of the event on February 26th, and allowing law enforcement to proceed with their investigation unhindered. Once again, I thank you for your patience and I assure you, the facts will come to light.

“WebSite tonight.” What a tagline!

By stating indisputable facts — only that he is happy and thankful for the people have supported him — he has turned the very notion of what we expect of this type of fact section (that it would be controversial) on its head. He takes an equally genre-bending approach to his “My Race” section, which one would expect to be the most popular and mind-testing space on the site. Instead, it’s another quote:

“The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.” – Thomas Paine

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While the underlined section is great, it’s Zimmerman’s unwavering penchant for toying with his patrons that stands out. But as the reviews pour in, it hasn’t all been roses for Zimmerman. The Orlando Sentinel, in particular, has seemingly panned the site:

Zimmerman said in the website that “I was involved in a life altering event which led me to become the subject of intense media coverage” on Feb. 26, referring to the fatal shooting of Trayvon Zimmerman, a Neighborhood Watch volunteer, told police he shot 17-year-old Travyon in self defense outside a gated Sanford community, Retreat at Twin Lakes. “You know, he says that he experienced a life-altering event. Well, Trayvon Martin experienced a life-ending event,‘’ Benjamin Crump, the attorney for Trayvon Martin’s family, said on [Good Morning America].

Only time will tell the fate and success of Zimmerman’s project. While it’s ambitious in its simplistic rusticness, and successfully evokes memories of the shabby-chic websites of many of our youths, it looks like building a quote-heavy site that has little substance to mask its clear money-grubbing aims isn’t going to go over well with the public. And while I applaud Zimmerman’s ambition and willingness to push the limits of what we would even consider to be a website these days, I’m having trouble seeing myself enjoy it as any more than a single fling of whimsy. I doubt I’ll ever forget that copyright joke, however.

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Follow Derek Mead on Twitter: @drderekmead.