It was the end of history but it was before 9/11, before the dot.com crash, a whole decade before the Great Recession
Zuckerberg was still at school. I was in New York. I had a beeper and an answering service, there was a tiny office with a desk and a chair and no one in it. I carried a Powerbook G3, a preposterous Powerpoint deck and yawning self-doubt. TBH I spent more time in Strand Books than selling the proposition and soon enough I closed the New York ‘office’ and retreated to the archipelago.
![A dog leans out of the passenger window of a pickup in heavy traffic at the intersection of 6th Avenue and West 37th Street in Manhattan in 1998](http://bowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/50662349506_bef8440645_o-1024x574.jpg)
![A 1998 photo of International General Merchandise Inc, a grandly named store at 426 Broadway, NY, NY, that sold electronics, sunglasses, bags.](http://bowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/50662451792_e2746f717f_o-1024x574.jpg)
![A 1998 photo of Pearl River, a famous Chinese restaurant on Canal Street in lower Manhattan](http://bowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/50661625593_2519c69790_o-1024x574.jpg)
![A Freezer Fresh ice cream truck in Manhattan in July 1998](http://bowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/50662452132_64db946799_o-1024x574.jpg)
![Sneakers, a sportswear shop on Broadway in Manhattan in 1998](http://bowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/50662451947_0cfd7a72b5_o-1024x574.jpg)
![Sbarro, Italian pizza chain, at Times Square, New York, late at night in 1998](http://bowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/50662348041_8b580f5cf0_o-1024x574.jpg)
![A busy scene at an intersection on West Broadway, Manhattan in 1998](http://bowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/50662451082_c5ca8a6b57_o-1024x574.jpg)
![Yellow cab close-up, late at night in New York, 1998](http://bowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/50661614418_782b95dd30_o-1024x574.jpg)
![Jacob Wiesenfeld, a textile store in Manhattan in 1998](http://bowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/50662452007_7249a1fab1_o-1024x574.jpg)
![A hotdog restaurant in New York in 1998, the signs outside reference Mayro Giuliani's campaign for more politeness in the city](http://bowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/50662363101_7d86fd5584_o-1024x574.jpg)
![Shops and signs in New York CIty, 1998](http://bowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/50662360376_7666a5ddd1_o-1024x574.jpg)
![New Moda Custom tailoring, a store in Lower Manhattan in 1998](http://bowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/50661627043_f937e92dee_o-1024x574.jpg)
![A Burger King and a yellow cab in midtown Manhattan late at night in 1998](http://bowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/50661616623_f1fe982f9a_o-1024x574.jpg)
![A laundromat in Manhattan, New York, 1998](http://bowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/50662358906_61744978af_o-1024x574.jpg)
![A $3.00 car wash in midtown Manhattan in 1998](http://bowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/50661624538_08c10e546b_o-1024x574.jpg)
![Taxis, trucks and limousines in traffic, viewed from above, New York City, 1998](http://bowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/50662440882_b0180c3361_o-1024x574.jpg)
![Plastic Land, a shop in midtown Manhattan in 1998](http://bowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/50661625553_a3c1449edd_o-1024x574.jpg)
![A neon sign in the window of Galaxy Deli Restaurant in midtown Manhattan in 1998](http://bowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/50661627478_923c584e63_o-1024x574.jpg)
![A blimp passes over lower Manhattan in 1998](http://bowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/50662453867_cb329da445_o-1024x574.jpg)
![Close-up of a yellow cab in New York CIty in 1998](http://bowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/50662450172_b3397dcaa3_o-1024x574.jpg)
![A parking sign and a huge painted billboard in midtown Manhattan in 1998. The Met Life building can be seen at top left.](http://bowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/50661623753_a268492a28_o-1024x574.jpg)
![Signs for AAAAAA Ace Paper Box Corp and AAAAAA Ace Creative Packaging in midtown Manhattan in 1998](http://bowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/50661626143_db21ed8c7a_o-1024x574.jpg)
![Mary's Video Supplies on West 23rd Street, Manhattan in 1998](http://bowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/50662449622_802c4cd287_o-1024x574.jpg)
![A sign that shows the State of New York registration number of a car workshop in Manhattan, New York in 1998](http://bowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/50662450687_a745f97e98_o-1024x574.jpg)
![A 1998 photograph of Ennio Jeweler, a shop in midtown Manhattan with signs in lovely mid-century commercial typefaces](http://bowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/50661626533_7326c89b00_o1-1024x574.jpg)
These photos were all taken with a neat little Canon APS camera. There are more – lots more – on Flickr.