Alex Beauchamp (aka alex the girl)
Alex Beauchamp is one of the early pioneers of personal blogging and digital storytelling. Known online as alex the girl, she began sharing her life and creative work on the internet in the mid-1990s—long before blogging was mainstream or monetized. Her writing was reflective, honest, and often quietly profound, helping shape the tone and trajectory of early online personal narratives.
✦ Key Projects & Contributions
alexthegirl.com (1995)
One of the earliest personal blogs on the internet. It introduced Alex’s honest, creative voice and helped establish her as an original presence in the emerging world of digital personal publishing.
girlatplay.com (2001)
When Alex decided to leave a corporate career to become a creative entreprenuer, she found little online and offline resources to help her. At the time, nearly all business books and advice were geared toward traditional corporate careers—especially for men. So she decided, if I can’t find it, I’ll write it. the site openly documented the process of becoming a published writer, artist, and creative entrepreneur—including the highs, lows, and lessons. The site resonated deeply and organically grew to over 1 million monthly visitors.
anothergirlatplay.com (2002)
An offshoot of girlatplay, this site featured interviews with over 30 female creative entrepreneurs from around the world. Alex asked candid questions about how they built their creative lives and businesses. The site spotlighted several artists early in their careers who would later become widely recognized. It was nominated for a SXSW Webby Award in 2003 alongside Nike and Torrid.
hyggehouse.com (2004)
A lifestyle blog devoted to the Danish concept of hygge—long before it became mainstream. It focused on themes like cozy living, simplicity, and intentionality. The site helped introduce the idea of hygge to a global audience. Alex was featured in the book Hygge & West Home: Design for a Cozy Life (2019) for her role in popularizing this lifestyle approach.
girlsguidetocitylife.com (2006)
When Alex moved to Los Angeles, she noticed a lack of authentic, local perspectives online—especially from women. In response, she created Girls Guide to City Life, a travel and lifestyle site where women from around the world shared what they loved about their cities. The site focused on real, lived experiences instead of tourist content. Cities included San Francisco, New York, London, Paris, Vancouver, Sydney, and Austin. It was nominated for a SXSW Web Award in 2007 and was acquired by Demand Media in 2008.
✦ Impact & Legacy
1. Pioneered Personal Blogging—Before It Was a Thing
Alex began blogging in 1995, before “blog” was even a common word. She hand-coded her sites and wrote from a deeply personal place, helping to define what an online journal could be. At a time when most web content was technical or commercial, she chose vulnerability, honesty, and creativity. Her work quietly helped shape the voice of early personal blogging.
2. Created Space for Women in Digital Creativity
With girlatplay.com and anothergirlatplay.com, Alex highlighted the creative journeys of women when few others were doing so. She documented her own transition from corporate life to a self-made creative career and interviewed over 30 women building independent, artistic businesses. This filled a gap in the cultural conversation—especially in the early 2000s, when female creative entrepreneurship had little visibility online.
3. Elevated “Lifestyle” Before It Was Marketed
Her site hyggehouse.com predated the hygge trend by more than a decade. She wrote not for branding or trends, but to explore and share her authentic interest in intentional, cozy living. Her approach influenced the tone of future lifestyle content—centered more on feeling and story than products.
4. Gave Rise to Local, Human-Centered Travel Writing
Through girlsguidetocitylife.com, Alex brought together women from around the world to share what they loved about the cities they lived in. This was in contrast to the tourist-heavy, commercialized travel guides of the time. Her site offered human-scale recommendations—early user-generated content with real soul. It was later acquired by Demand Media in 2008.
5. Built Everything Herself—and Never Monetized
In an era that would later become obsessed with traffic, monetization, and metrics, Alex stood apart. She hand-coded and designed each of her sites, building them not to sell something, but to say something. Her work stayed ad-free and sponsor-free—motivated by curiosity, connection, and creativity. That choice created trust, and it inspired others to create without compromise.
Legacy
Alex Beauchamp’s digital work remains influential not only for its creative vision and early innovation, but for its heart: she showed that personal storytelling, artistic risk, and a strong sense of place could create meaningful, lasting connections online.
Her projects, many of which predated social media and search engines, served as creative lifelines for millions of readers and helped usher in the era of lifestyle blogging, creative entrepreneurship, and online communities.
Alex Beauchamp’s body of work helped define what online storytelling could be. She didn’t start with a business model or marketing strategy—she simply built what she wanted to see in the world. Through her writing and platforms, she created space for creativity, vulnerability, and connection—especially for women carving out their own paths in the early internet.
Her work influenced a generation of digital creators and lifestyle bloggers, and remains an early example of personal blogging on the internet.