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Americans have stopped using the Internet the way they used to

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Americans have stopped using the Internet the way they used to

#51

Post by ncarroll »

api wrote: post #16
chx wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are still pockets of resistance, specific forums that do not go away. The traffic have dwindled on some but still, there's enough. Others are thriving.

Same is true with music. There's a whole world of amazing music out there that never gets a second of radio play or mainstream exposure. Occasionally it shows up in movie and TV scores but that's as close as it gets. Same goes for art, literature, etc. The great and ground breaking stuff is out there but you have to look for it. There is and probably always will be a pop "matrix" and a "Zion" known to those who stray…

We listen to RadioParadise(.com). It's "new music" and "old music" that pretty much dances all over the Time and Styles matrix. The DJ, Bill Goldsmith has a real talent for delight and his eclectic choices make me smile every day.

The forums over there are old-internet great too... ;-)

Re: Americans have stopped using the Internet the way they used to

#52

Post by marchenko »

electricEmu wrote: post #14
chx wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are still pockets of resistance, specific forums that do not go away. The traffic have dwindled on some but still, there's enough. Others are thriving.

Where would someone find these pockets? I've felt a real lack of pulse since reader went away and the IRC channels I used to frequent sputtered out.

This might be a use case for Slack

Re: Americans have stopped using the Internet the way they used to

#53

Post by TeMPOraL »

Godel_unicode wrote: post #47
nsxwolf wrote: post #33

I will sometimes stop myself from googling something I'm curious about. I imagine a situation where I become falsely accused of a crime and the search I'm about to make coincidentally incriminates me and is discovered with a subpoena.

You're being paranoid, that will never happen. Full stop. I realize this attitude is unpopular around here, and tin-foil hat one-upsmanship is the name of the game, but seriously. Relax. You're over thinking it.

TSA did detain people for their tweets, didn't they?

Re: Americans have stopped using the Internet the way they used to

#54

Post by tudorw »

pessimizer wrote: post #15

It helps that the web is now terrible. It used to be that when I typed in some band, movie, show, book, or piece of ephemera into Altavista, 50 sites would come up with 50 different voices commenting on it from 15 different directions. Now, 50 sites still come up, but they're all using the exact same anonymously-written copy. Sometimes you get lucky and you can use Wikipedia to index into the Wayback Machine, and see…

I blame Google, their search is so outdated, it's barely functional, why can I not visualise results, sort sites by 'uniqueness', search a domain (sport, education, music), search by feeding it things I like, it's just an ad sales engine, any improvement that would get users to unique and interesting stuff is time they don't spend googling and seeing more ads, ripe for disruption!

Re: Americans have stopped using the Internet the way they used to

#55

Post by Supi-lee »

ori_b wrote: post #36
sverige wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's harder but not impossible. An email can be on a domain with anonymized WHOIS and a burner phone paid for with cash bought at a place without surveillance cameras. Hell, I do that sometimes and I'm not even doing anything criminal.

That's kind of missing the point. For casual communities, it's easier to just not post. I don't care enough about posting that awesome recipe for brussel sprouts with bacon lardons to go through the effort of setting up a custom domain so I can sign up for an anonymized facebook account so that I don't have to worry if it will show up in my family member's news feeds. I barely care enough to tweak facebook settings t…

Basically the internet is selecting for the people who are the opposite of you. Their voices, ideas and influence is being amplified. Unfortunate.

Re: Americans have stopped using the Internet the way they used to

#56

Post by Supi-lee »

AznHisoka wrote: post #22
electricEmu wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where would someone find these pockets? I've felt a real lack of pulse since reader went away and the IRC channels I used to frequent sputtered out.

Healthboards and other health related forums. Nobody likes to discuss their health issues on Facebook or Twitter. same goes with relationships and mommy related forums.

Not true. I have seen family members going through health issues make very strong, supporting friendships on private facebook groups dedicated to health stuff.

Re: Americans have stopped using the Internet the way they used to

#57

Post by cJ0th »

Godel_unicode wrote: post #49
fapjacks wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This I have always not understood. There is some amazing stuff out there. Even music from genres I hate that sounds amazing when I listen to it, so you know it has to just be incredible. But that kind of thing is not what the establishment in are pushing.

Confirmation bias. Or are you really saying that there's no pop music you think is good?

Well, that's exactly the problem: it is all "good" these days. However, the ability to rate something as good implies that we talk about something we know how to rate and this is the case because the sample size of "good" songs is so incredibly huge by now. In fact, the market is totally saturated with "good" music but nothing has come to replace it yet. Just look at yesterday's Eurovision Song Contest: The songs were rather generic but they were all "good".

When OP talks about amazing stuff I think what s/he gets at is that there is music out there which literally causes amazement instead of a "yeah, this is good" nod.

Current pop music isn't meant to amaze you. If anything it serves as a utility. I.e. it makes unfortunate situations, like a long commute to your dead end job, more bearable.

Re: Americans have stopped using the Internet the way they used to

#58

Post by golergka »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #53
Godel_unicode wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're being paranoid, that will never happen. Full stop. I realize this attitude is unpopular around here, and tin-foil hat one-upsmanship is the name of the game, but seriously. Relax. You're over thinking it.

TSA did detain people for their tweets, didn't they?

Context?

Because I remember, for example, a story about two idiots posting photographs of weapons with captions about how they're going to a certain event to shoot people up there. Suddenly, arresting people "for" their tweets doesn't seem as stupid, does it. (It all ended without any bloodshed, idiots pretended it was just a joke).

Re: Americans have stopped using the Internet the way they used to

#59

Post by maccard »

sreenadh wrote: post #50
api wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same is true with music. There's a whole world of amazing music out there that never gets a second of radio play or mainstream exposure. Occasionally it shows up in movie and TV scores but that's as close as it gets. Same goes for art, literature, etc. The great and ground breaking stuff is out there but you have to look for it. There is and probably always will be a pop "matrix" and a "Zion" known to those who stray…

Honestly, even I was just thinking today the amount of garbage that has become radio today. Everyone just keep playing the same list of crappy songs by few artist, that I do not even understand why they are famous. Many times, when I switch the channel to escape a crappy song, the next one is also playing it. Once the same nikki manaj song was playing in 4 channels, that was scary. I viewed radio as a medium to find…

> Once the same nikki manaj song was playing in 4 channels, that was scary

I thought this too, until I realised that the 4 channels were actually broadcasting the same airing, albeit slightly out of sync.

Re: Americans have stopped using the Internet the way they used to

#60

Post by tommyman »

cJ0th wrote: post #57
Godel_unicode wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Confirmation bias. Or are you really saying that there's no pop music you think is good?

Well, that's exactly the problem: it is all "good" these days. However, the ability to rate something as good implies that we talk about something we know how to rate and this is the case because the sample size of "good" songs is so incredibly huge by now. In fact, the market is totally saturated with "good" music but nothing has come to replace it yet. Just look at yesterday's Eurovision Song Contest: The songs wer…

good but no character. They are good in the sense that vocalists hit the notes they aim for (with or without autotuners), they are good in the sense that they have good harmonics, good rhythm etc.

They just lack any kind of character. cookie-cutter songs from talented but unimaginative people. Their music lacks 'life'.

I can't explain why but a good blues guitarist can strike a nerve just playing relatively simple licks if they do it well. It conveys a feeling that makes modern pop sound bland, lifeless, boring. There is no connection to the musician or the music. no soul.

All said though music is a very much personal taste thing so each to their own. Today you will have 'I'm a barbie girl, in a barbie woo-oorld' stuck in your head. You're welcome :)

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