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It’s been quite some time since FaceBook forced us to write about ourselves in the third person, and I’ve missed it. There’s something very analytical about that, vain and vapid too, so it suits just about every part of me. In honor of that, and the ten-year anniversary of this site, I present to you the official Press Release on the decade which came before:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ten years ago Alan Ilagan invited the world to the virtual party of www.ALANILAGAN.com, and since that time the revelry has raged every day.  From writer to photographer, poser to pantomime, gallery manager to exhibitionist, and husband to Uncle, he’s tried on a lot of hats over the years, every one photographed, chronicled, and archived on this very site. Revealing a lot while revealing very little is the hat trick at which he is most adept, and beneath every revelation he has made is another tantalizing veil, a hint at ever more to come. 

This is where his talent for combining the written word and the visual image comes into clear focus. This is where he gets to experiment, explore and play ~ unabashedly showing off no matter the risks or mistakes that might result. It’s a sight to be seen, a voyeuristic and clandestine adventure, one in which the sharing of a journey has become an art form unto itself.

Somewhere along the ensuing decade, the site became about more than Mr. Ilagan himself. It was a mirror of all sorts of things ~ celebrity, art, music, beauty, pop culture, gay rights, marriage equality, family, love, and friendship ~ not only in the way he saw the world, but in the way we saw the world. It was no longer about Alan as the sole attraction, but more of a community cocktail party. He’d make the drinks, but he wanted you to be a part of it. An integral part of it. In fact, the reason for it. Like the parties he’s thrown, it’s become less about the host and more about the guests. While it feels like an exclusive event, one never gets the notion that they are anything but included in the festivities. Sometimes the gathering is elegant, sometimes it’s raunchy, and sometimes it’s too much for words – but it’s always engaging, it’s often enjoyable, and everyone is always welcome.