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The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

muddy.jprs.me

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Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#151

Post by grahamburger »

armchairhacker wrote: post #67
fragmede wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you balance that with the need for money to afford things in life though? There's a lot of things I could go do if I didn't have to think about bills to pay.

How did they in the 1990s/2000s/2010s?

In the 90s, my parents made at least 50% more than I do (for similar work, not inflation adjusted), bought a house almost twice as big as mine in a nicer area for 25% less than mine, and traveled internationally for what it costs me to take my kids camping. Well, maybe that last one is a slight exaggeration, but the rest isn't.

Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#152

Post by dgellow »

fragmede wrote: post #76
summa_tech wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the issue is that while you can (and perhaps should ) do at least one such thing, it's going to be a pretty lonely pursuit, unless you have a pre-existing group of people to connect over this. The Internet used to be really good at random, unscripted collaboration. But the winner-takes-all nature of modern social media means that if you do not optimize your presentation for maximum engagement, you will not ev…

Why do they have to be pre-exisiting? Release the whatever to the world, make a Discord for it, and find people that way.

I hate the switch to discord so much…

Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#154

Post by baggachipz »

runjake wrote: post #45

I think this is more a consumption problem. Step 1: Avoid algorithmic feeds of content. Step 2: Avoid services that tend to collect, highlight, or exhibit AI slop. Step 3: Read more books. Step 4: Create more things and then share them on the Internet. This step directly addresses your concerns. Rephrased: If you're not creating things and sharing it on the Internet, you are part of the problem. PS: There are a small…

RSS is great and I love that it's making a resurgence. I've sworn off big social media sites, including Reddit. Lemmy/Piefed feels more like "old internet" and I like it.

Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#155

Post by lbrito »

Enshittification was very advanced in the 2010s, which the author describes as still within the golden age.

I'm sure it's an age thing. Author must be younger than I. But really, with the benefit of hindsight, the gates of evil opened with web 2.0. "Democratization" lead to strong platforms, walled gardens and the rest of it.

Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#156

Post by rchaud »

The old internet can't come back, no matter how many MySpace[0] and Geocities clones[1] are spun up. The world has changed. Even the author's reference to TikTok lip-syncing videos are at least 5 years out of date - kids aren't doing that anymore.

People don't see any point in "creating content" in the form of a website or an irreverent blog site anymore. It takes too much time away from school or work obligations. Their friends couldn't care less about it. Worst of all, there isn't a guestbook to receive feedback from like-minded internet strangers that isn't riddled with spambots.

If someone is doing it, it's because they want fame; that's the only worthwhile payoff for putting yourself out there, and it creates misaligned incentives that result in inauthentic expression: generic meme pages, terrible video skits, standup comedy clips that are 90% tedious "crowd work" because they don't want to reveal their actual stage material.

- [0] https://spacehey.com/ [1] https://mmm.page/, https://neocities.org/

Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#157

Post by clickety_clack »

munificent wrote: post #53

I have a pet theory that much of what we're seeing culturally is that the 90s and early 2000s (at least in the US) was a window of time that offered a sense of safety and surplus. 9/11 was extremely culturally disruptive, but aside from that, for many in the US, it felt like there was "enough to go around". That environment breeds a lot of creativity, innovation, whimsy, and doing things for their own sake. But that…

If you feel that way then you have to question what it is that you’re doing that puts you in a place where you are made to feel that way. Many people (most that I know) don’t feel that way. It may be the online communities that you are in or the news you consume, and the great news about that is that is stuff that is not only optional; you choose to consume it. You can just stop consuming it.

Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#158

Post by theultdev »

LeCompteSftware wrote: post #15
theultdev wrote: post #4

Skill issue. Been doing this for 20 years. I have less dev energy as an adult and dad, but I know what I want and how to make it. All of my ideas I'm able to make not only a proof of concept but an entirely polished app, all thanks to AI. I wouldn't say it's more or less fun than coding manual, apples to oranges, but it's certainly entertaining.

That's not what this article is about. It's really about algorithmic social media. There is one short paragraph near the end that mentions AI: "AI did not kill the Internet; it inherited an Internet with the fun already optimized out of it."

Yeah I admit I only glanced at it. So okay, it was the other common nostalgia take...

Yes it was more whimsical, yes I miss it, but no point talking about it anymore, that part of life is over.

Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#159

Post by Waterluvian »

functionmouse wrote: post #2

I agree, but it's been said by all... make homebrew software for an old Nintendo console pick up cross stitching or weaving make an independent film with a friend; use stuff from your kitchen as props find a borderline functional instrument at your local thrift store write a 1 page short story in pen it's not enough anymore to merely criticize this bad time we're having

A little while ago I got my hodge podge Amazon soldering kit out and took the time to fix two DMG-01 Game Boys from my childhood. I opened up a bunch of PS5 controllers and replaced the analog sticks with hall sensors.

Nothing about what I did was impressive. I’m a novice at best. But I haven’t felt so fulfilled in such a long time. I had a serious moment of thinking, “I wish I could quit my career and just repair electronics for people.”

Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#160

Post by kjkjadksj »

2ndorderthought wrote: post #49
bjelkeman-again wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mostly hang out in small online communities that essentially become tightly curated by people I am interested in interacting with.

Most of those got absorbed by reddit for me. Reddit has some awesome characteristics. But over the past two years it's becoming more and more bots. You used to be able to make a reddit account without an email, now you can't for obvious reasons.

You can still make an account without an email because reddit doesn’t verify emails. You can put whatever you want in the email line. I have made dozens of accounts this way. No idea if the associated emails are even valid.
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