> Early internet nerds may feel like they have a hegemony over this ___domain, but it belongs to the public at large, made up of all types of people with varying levels of risk and criteria for what they deem is acceptable public discourse.
Today will feel early too in 100 years.
It might not be what you meant but this comment comes across on its own as a bit of sour grapes.
It’s less about a hegemony, and more about what was a shared experience for an actually small group of people. They weren’t pioneers or visionaries, just curious explorers. The web having that small of a user base probably won’t happen again. It’s moot a bad thing either because look at how we can ask connect now.
Still, the first time trying cable/adsl, or wifi when there was none, or mobile data that was so slow it left lots of time to dream was a seminal moment that this group didn’t see coming or pick, but it is theirs.
Maybe they were 10-20 years early and today you are in a better position.
There’s a lot of firsts still to be experienced together on this journey.
Similar to how we’re all soaking in LLMs together.
When something like the web was underground, counter cukture and mainstream it’s a different formation period. Tech wasn’t cool and certainly didn’t impress many. Still it was chosen. The promises to be around a keyboard were limited and it took going to great lengths for many. It’s really good it’s not as hard anymore.
Todays web is much better and more accessible. It’s mushy what we access that we will learn to pay attention to and become more discerning about as our digital palette evolves.
As an observation, Facebook was the first thing the broadest group of people did on a computer or the web. It really lived off mainstream technology adoption. This might be Fb’s greatest contribution to society. Still, if we don't like where a platform is going, the next curve of connecting awaits for you to make something you and others want.
Stopping people from using a platform they don’t like might be harder than just building the next thing.
The internet will get more personal. And that’s good.
I think what you're hearing is people mourning a loss of something they had and valued.
I think feeling that loss, and expressing it, is valid.
> Todays web is much better and more accessible.
Whether or not it's better depends on what you found valuable about it. It is worse for some, and better for others. Disclaimer: it's much, much worse for me. But I acknowledge that it's better for others. Such is life.
> The internet will get more personal. And that’s good.
Whether that's good or not depends on what you mean by "get more personal". If what you mean is "more personalized", then I think that's the opposite of good.
But, again, that's just me and I'm mourning that the web is most of the way toward becoming a thing that no longer meets my needs or desires. That it meets the needs and desires of others is fine, and I don't want to deny others from being able to derive value from it. But, nonetheless, the loss to me, personally, is real and I don't see why I shouldn't be able to talk about that.
Today will feel early too in 100 years.
It might not be what you meant but this comment comes across on its own as a bit of sour grapes.
It’s less about a hegemony, and more about what was a shared experience for an actually small group of people. They weren’t pioneers or visionaries, just curious explorers. The web having that small of a user base probably won’t happen again. It’s moot a bad thing either because look at how we can ask connect now.
Still, the first time trying cable/adsl, or wifi when there was none, or mobile data that was so slow it left lots of time to dream was a seminal moment that this group didn’t see coming or pick, but it is theirs.
Maybe they were 10-20 years early and today you are in a better position.
There’s a lot of firsts still to be experienced together on this journey.
Similar to how we’re all soaking in LLMs together.
When something like the web was underground, counter cukture and mainstream it’s a different formation period. Tech wasn’t cool and certainly didn’t impress many. Still it was chosen. The promises to be around a keyboard were limited and it took going to great lengths for many. It’s really good it’s not as hard anymore.
Todays web is much better and more accessible. It’s mushy what we access that we will learn to pay attention to and become more discerning about as our digital palette evolves.
As an observation, Facebook was the first thing the broadest group of people did on a computer or the web. It really lived off mainstream technology adoption. This might be Fb’s greatest contribution to society. Still, if we don't like where a platform is going, the next curve of connecting awaits for you to make something you and others want.
Stopping people from using a platform they don’t like might be harder than just building the next thing.
The internet will get more personal. And that’s good.