I'll just leave this here...
Ask HN: Whatever happened to exploring the internet?
81–90 of 286 posts
Re: Ask HN: Whatever happened to exploring the internet?
#82[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Whatever happened to exploring the internet?
#83The Scout Report has been around almost as long as the Web - I visit it occasionally for new inspiration https://scout.wisc.edu/report/current
Re: Ask HN: Whatever happened to exploring the internet?
#84The internet is bigger and contains more information than ever before.
You can't passively explore. You can't go to one or two sites and just consume a feed.
Think of interests you have, things you are curious about, cultures you want to know more about - and seek those out. That is what exploring is: navigating the unknown.
Re: Ask HN: Whatever happened to exploring the internet?
#85Can I equate this with "exploring the computer"?
Windows 98 was the first OS I used, played games on and explored internet on. At that time exploring the windows itself use to feel fun let alone finding all those new websites. Yahoo and MSN were a thing back then for the same reason I think. They were big and each had so much to explore and enjoy.
Now days with improved search experience and better internet speeds everything is more accessible and there is more of everything. You don't have to stick to one thing and explore it from A to Z.
I use to explore features of Windows 98 even XP but that all stopped and now I don't have those interest anymore.
Maybe your idea of why we are not "exploring" is just maturity and growth in this domain. We now don't need to explore like the way we use to because we have probably grown out of it.
Re: Ask HN: Whatever happened to exploring the internet?
#86You explored it. That's it. Turns out there's less of it than you imagined. There are, of course, plenty of sites that you could visit. Most of them will be incredibly boring. Years ago you found that interesting just because it was all new, but you don't any more because you've seen similar things already. I suspect that most of those "5 to 6 sites" are aggregators like Hacker News where people seek out new stuff (o…
There is nothing new under the sun.
It is a high bar to produce something truly innovative and different, and not just the same old with a shinier interface. Same goes for all the creative arts: television, music, movies, art, etc. You always come up against the law of diminishing marginal utility so very little ever feels as good as it was to begin with.
Do you have a favourite band but now only ever really listen to their first few albums? Do the majority of movie releases basically not excite you? Can you really be bothered to watch season n of some show you enjoyed initially?
The only way to escape that cycle is to be a creator (with yourself as an audience of one).
Re: Ask HN: Whatever happened to exploring the internet?
#87Could it be that your over 30? There is a problem known as the multi-armed bandit problem[0]. The problem deals with situations where you have to chose between different options you could take, but you don't start off with full knowledge of the options. You can spend time learning the options (exploring) or you can spend time using the best option you already know of (exploit). Importantly, you can't do both at the s…
I just wrote an answer to this post and saw your comment afterwards. I am over 30 and the pattern I explained in my comment all points towards getting older and mature.
Does it mean that young people are still exploring the internet and computer today the way I use to back when I was young?
Re: Ask HN: Whatever happened to exploring the internet?
#88Something nobody seems to be mentioning: the 2008 crash happened. The "cool" internet was largely populated by two things: People screwing around creating content in their spare time, with no expectation of profit ("Hobbyists"), and eager entrepreneurs burning through tons of money trying to find the "one weird trick" that would make them rich on the net. Most of #2 failed, but while it was happening it provided a ho…
This trend also applies to music. 2008 put a hamper on the DIY scene. It's harder to find the time and resources to make music, let alone tour, since many artists, and would-be artists, have to work multiple jobs just to pay rent.
Re: Ask HN: Whatever happened to exploring the internet?
#89Sorry that this is offtopic, but please don't use celebrity names for your username. It's distracting and basically mildly trolls every thread you post to. If you want to email hn@ycombinator.com to change your username we'll be happy to do that for you. (Same offer for anyone of course.) Until then, I'm going to ban the account for the time being since it's the only way to take care of this short of renaming.
Who is mickjagger?
Re: Ask HN: Whatever happened to exploring the internet?
#90The internet became too risky and aggravating to explore randomly a long time ago.