Great piece! I have always been attracted to this weirder, more obscure side of the internet. The internet veteran is quite right too. Although I was still pretty young when the internet became mainstream, I nonetheless remember it being much more interesting and alive than it is today. Everything today is either a big social media site, or it's news. Beyond this, the things that used to make it feel alive (forums, flash games, early social media like myspace) are largely gone. Sure, they still exist, but they do not have the touch or aesthetics of something designed for humans to use and enjoy. It feels like it is, at best, optimized purely for screen time without any regard to enjoyment. It's utility all the way down.
Just recently came to the stack from twitter and love the piece! Also the comment, "The internet being optimized purely for screen time without any regard to enjoyment. It's utility all the way down." - reminded me of Dmitry's Midrange Jumpers for the Middle Class post discussing the hollowing out of the middle class for 1% better profit margins.
In regards to the connection - where did the hollowing out start? Was it physical things first or digital? Globalism, Darpa's advanced AI, a result of our misunderstanding of the technological and digital media medium shift, the inevitability of human nature to optimize?
Yeah I've been thinking about this recently: about how selling our labor overseas or importing infinity immigrants probably doesn't even give spectacularly better profit margins, and you end up losing many of the things that matter most such as your culture and nation.
Regarding when it started: I have no clue tbh. I think this is just my ignorance at play. I would naïvely say globalism and the hollowing out of the middle class, but any attempt to point to where, on a grand scale, the hollowing out started will fall flat apart from a spiritual explanation. For instance, choosing to serve Mammon rather than God is what leads people to sell their own out for like 1% better profits. On the whole, it's more complicated than just bowing to Mammon, but it must be spiritual, fundamentally.
Great piece! I have always been attracted to this weirder, more obscure side of the internet. The internet veteran is quite right too. Although I was still pretty young when the internet became mainstream, I nonetheless remember it being much more interesting and alive than it is today. Everything today is either a big social media site, or it's news. Beyond this, the things that used to make it feel alive (forums, flash games, early social media like myspace) are largely gone. Sure, they still exist, but they do not have the touch or aesthetics of something designed for humans to use and enjoy. It feels like it is, at best, optimized purely for screen time without any regard to enjoyment. It's utility all the way down.
Spot on, thanks for your reflection. It all is very sanitized now.
Just recently came to the stack from twitter and love the piece! Also the comment, "The internet being optimized purely for screen time without any regard to enjoyment. It's utility all the way down." - reminded me of Dmitry's Midrange Jumpers for the Middle Class post discussing the hollowing out of the middle class for 1% better profit margins.
In regards to the connection - where did the hollowing out start? Was it physical things first or digital? Globalism, Darpa's advanced AI, a result of our misunderstanding of the technological and digital media medium shift, the inevitability of human nature to optimize?
Yeah I've been thinking about this recently: about how selling our labor overseas or importing infinity immigrants probably doesn't even give spectacularly better profit margins, and you end up losing many of the things that matter most such as your culture and nation.
Regarding when it started: I have no clue tbh. I think this is just my ignorance at play. I would naïvely say globalism and the hollowing out of the middle class, but any attempt to point to where, on a grand scale, the hollowing out started will fall flat apart from a spiritual explanation. For instance, choosing to serve Mammon rather than God is what leads people to sell their own out for like 1% better profits. On the whole, it's more complicated than just bowing to Mammon, but it must be spiritual, fundamentally.
A spooky piece for Halloween. I regret clicking on Loab.
Dang it I forgot to put the disclaimer, I should add that 😂
No, it's fine. I'm totally safe by myself in this abandoned office space...
You are literally in a liminal space haha