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The internet is already over (2022)

samkriss.substack.com

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Re: The internet is already over (2022)

#151

Post by imiric »

This is an overly wordy article, that I think misses the mark.

The internet _as the Western world knows it today_ will not be the same in a few decades. But then again, it's hardly the same today as it was 30 years ago either.

A few things affect this:

- Advertising. It's everywhere and corrupts every form of media. Content is made to appease advertisers, and web services are built to extract data from users. The internet experience is getting gradually worse.

- Politics. For some reason, it's only dawning on governments now that providing uncensored and unfettered connections to their political adversaries can be used for information warfare. The idea that connecting the world will make it a better place and undo the millennia of tribalism is a romanticized platitude of the 1990s.

- Artificial intelligence. The situation will only be exacerbated by letting AI loose on the internet. Whatever humans can do online, AI can do much, much better—or worse, depending on your perspective.

The outcome of these things will be that countries will have a more restricted and censored version of the current internet. We'll follow China's example, and have a European internet, US internet, etc.

The internet will survive. It will just be very different.

Re: The internet is already over (2022)

#152

Post by ibz »

wruza wrote: post #68
mrkramer wrote: post #13

My take on declining online social engagement is; a lot of people like to consume online content passively e.g. just reading Facebook posts or watching a YouTube video without actually liking or commenting. Another thing is; increasing number of people came to realize that privacy does matter and they refuse to participate in online dramas that can damage their reputation or harm their mental health.

What’s the point of commenting a youtube video, have you ever seen the comments there? Liking a video makes your feed piled up with a semi-relevant crap for a week. Sometimes (increasingly often) I have to dislike an otherwise good video because I don’t want to screw up my recommendations.

Depending on what content I am watching, sometimes I learn more from the comments than from the video itself.

Re: The internet is already over (2022)

#153

Post by goatlover »

lmm wrote: post #74

Meh. No, the internet isn't going away. Yes, it's not the countercultural thing it once was. Counterculture is still happening, just not on the first page you go to on the internet any more. No, manufacturing going from 20% to 14% of the economy does not mean the world is ending. And no, the random coincidence of who has a bunch of oil money right now doesn't mean anything. The internet will outlast Islam, culturally…

The world wasn't that boring without a phone in your pocket. That's just a symptom of being addicted to online engagement. People got along just fine for most of human history with the internet to entertain them.

Re: The internet is already over (2022)

#154

Post by lazide »

SteamUsersLol wrote: post #123
lazide wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMO, it’s due to burnout due to pathological manipulation. Which is also playing out in politics and the media/advertising, and the macroeconomic fed rate situation. They’re all related. Business cycle wise: - it starts out mellow, with lots of positive ROI and few downsides. Few know about it at first. - as awareness grows, so does competition. While there is a ton of room to grow, this isn’t a problem. Growth doesn…

> Pluses: in 20-30 years, there will be a lot of older folks who are very hard to fool or manipulate. I disagree. Tech literacy is going down, partially due to an overreliance on dashboard-style mobile apps and phishing scams are still widely effective. I have seen people lose mails and accounts to strategies that have been unchanged for an easily googleable 11 years now. Perhaps the inevitability of exposure is a nu…

Those people will lose out, competitively. There will be a large period of churn.

Re: The internet is already over (2022)

#156

Post by Galatians4_16 »

imiric wrote: post #151

This is an overly wordy article, that I think misses the mark. The internet _as the Western world knows it today_ will not be the same in a few decades. But then again, it's hardly the same today as it was 30 years ago either. A few things affect this: - Advertising. It's everywhere and corrupts every form of media. Content is made to appease advertisers, and web services are built to extract data from users. The int…

> The idea that connecting the world will make it a better place and undo the millennia of tribalism is a romanticized platitude of the 1990s.

This only applies in media that allows censorship, and controls visibility. If it doesn't, the bigots are easy to identify and weed themselves out. If it foes, the bigots can form bubbles, and foster tribalism.

Re: The internet is already over (2022)

#157

Post by the_gipsy »

breck wrote: post #67
the_gipsy wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100$ for a folder? Fellas, I'll give you a folder for 50$ over here!

For 10 years. $10 a year. The important thing is to find people committed to building great sites for the long run. If you're not willing to put in a little bit of money, then it's not for you.

One, Asking for even a dollar makes it inaccessible to a vast part of the world's population. Two, it just makes the project sound like a scam.

There are a myriad of "simple web" projects out there that do technically a "basic web like in the good ol' days", no money required, and actually have specs and implementations to show, in contrast to "a folder".

Check out https://geminiprotocol.net/. They have clients available, and even some content!

Re: The internet is already over (2022)

#158

Post by renegat0x0 »

First thing - what was fun? I think fan pages with a lots of interesting content, forums with interesting topics, IIRC channels with interesting groups.

All had one thing in common: interesting creators.

Previously Google connected you with interesting pages, now Google is answering machine. Now you are not connected with people, but with Google algorithm. You are connected with amazon deals, news outlets. You will not find XYZ blog on it that easily.

Previously Facebook was designed to connect you with people, now you are connected with memes, ads, bots, and companies, news outlets.

Previously YouTube connected users with creators, now it is full of corporations, big media. You cannot down vote, you cannot easily browse subscriptions. YouTube does not care about users, comment section has limited amount of moderation tools.

Dead internet theory. Bots create your feeds through algorithms. Bots comment threads through malicious accounts. Now Bots will also create content.

Manual labor is often more precise, more artsy. Moving to automation, to factories killed some of that. I think this is what happens with the Internet. We are living in a factory now.

There is a limit to enshittification, before users are tired and go elsewhere.

Re: The internet is already over (2022)

#159

Post by InDubioProRubio »

Galatians4_16 wrote: post #156
imiric wrote: post #151

This is an overly wordy article, that I think misses the mark. The internet _as the Western world knows it today_ will not be the same in a few decades. But then again, it's hardly the same today as it was 30 years ago either. A few things affect this: - Advertising. It's everywhere and corrupts every form of media. Content is made to appease advertisers, and web services are built to extract data from users. The int…

> The idea that connecting the world will make it a better place and undo the millennia of tribalism is a romanticized platitude of the 1990s. This only applies in media that allows censorship, and controls visibility. If it doesn't, the bigots are easy to identify and weed themselves out. If it foes, the bigots can form bubbles, and foster tribalism.

Information wants to be free - the ideology - downvoted into disappearance and death.. the irony..

Re: The internet is already over (2022)

#160

Post by InDubioProRubio »

imiric wrote: post #151

This is an overly wordy article, that I think misses the mark. The internet _as the Western world knows it today_ will not be the same in a few decades. But then again, it's hardly the same today as it was 30 years ago either. A few things affect this: - Advertising. It's everywhere and corrupts every form of media. Content is made to appease advertisers, and web services are built to extract data from users. The int…

I think what we will also see - are pocket universes. As in- to circumvent censorship, people will download and run an ai, that mimicrys the free internet for them.
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