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Omegle 2009-2023

omegle.com

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Re: Omegle 2009-2023

#191

Post by iopq »

thegrim22 wrote: post #188
iopq wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Back then you could post to Craigslist for an anonymous hookup and play poker online for money. Now the Match Group owns all the dating websites and successfully shittified them. Social media in general has been basically a big loss, with Reddit charging for API access since they don't want to lose revenues, Youtube trying to block adblockers, Twitter promoting Russian propaganda

Also back then every other post wasn't full of political echo chamber warfare like your jab about russian propaganda you just couldn't resist throwing in.

Twitter owners did not engage in promotion of conspiracy theories back then

Re: Omegle 2009-2023

#192

Post by sroussey »

SamPatt wrote: post #68
cortesoft wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find it interesting that the "magical period" seems to be determined by your age. For me, the internet has already lost its magic by the time the mid 2000s came around, well before Omegle came out in 2009. For me, the magical period was the early 90s, when I was growing up. In 15 years, are people going to be talking about the current internet as the time when the magic was there? It seems more about the magic of c…

You may be right. The author mentioned being in their 30s, and so am I, but I'm at the tail end and they're probably at the start. Late 90s and early 2000s was my age of internet exploration.

Same here. That’s when we were running a forum hosting site and it was great—until it wasn’t. Slowly then suddenly as they say.

Re: Omegle 2009-2023

#193

Post by injeolmi_love »

xwdv wrote: post #12

To the founder of Omegle, I would say: do not lose heart. The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice. In the end, we will prevail over those who destroy the good works of others under the guise of false victimhood and social justice, and build a very special place in hell for them, where we will condemn them for all eternity.

What makes you think the universe bends towards justice? For the last 10 years, every metric of personal and economic freedom has declined. Most countries peaked in 2007. Its starting to look like personal freedom was an anomaly and we’re now retiring to the historic norm.

Re: Omegle 2009-2023

#194

Post by matheusmoreira »

xwdv wrote: post #12

To the founder of Omegle, I would say: do not lose heart. The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice. In the end, we will prevail over those who destroy the good works of others under the guise of false victimhood and social justice, and build a very special place in hell for them, where we will condemn them for all eternity.

I truly admire your optimism.

Re: Omegle 2009-2023

#195

Post by sroussey »

AddLightness wrote: post #79
cortesoft wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find it interesting that the "magical period" seems to be determined by your age. For me, the internet has already lost its magic by the time the mid 2000s came around, well before Omegle came out in 2009. For me, the magical period was the early 90s, when I was growing up. In 15 years, are people going to be talking about the current internet as the time when the magic was there? It seems more about the magic of c…

I agree and I think this era absolutely will be remembered fondly by kids who grew up with it. The streamer/YouTuber culture is massive and to many young people now that makes up a big part of their life. Many people are already waxing poetic about the "golden eras" of sites like Twitch.

Or JustinTV… ;)

Re: Omegle 2009-2023

#196

Post by fragmede »

iopq wrote: post #182
adamomada wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMHO the early internet was different in one important way - you used to have to know how to use a computer that was fairly complex to even get online vs mashing glass on a touchscreen device that is always connected that you have approximately 0% idea of how it works That is to say the idiots back then were almost smarter than the average user today

I went online in 1999 and it was almost always online DSL, so the idiots were just as bad back then. Those that didn't have DSL had AOL which is one click to get online

Yeah but even then they had to work to escape AOL's walled garden, which mostly served to keep them in, rather than the rest of us out.

Re: Omegle 2009-2023

#198

Post by ijustlovemath »

This is devastating. I have so many fond memories of meeting fellow weirdos over text. The days where StumbleUpon always took you somewhere exciting, cool, beautiful, interesting, funny, or novel. Where you looked at what people did with The Web 2.0 and only marveled at the possibilities of what could come. Truly feels like the death of one of the old guard, a Usenet-of-the-2010s.

I even used it during pandemic times as a way to dance with strangers over video; putting on ridiculous outfits and playing disco were some of the moments from those dark times that I still cherish.

RIP Omegle! You will be missed, by me and many others.

Re: Omegle 2009-2023

#199

Post by jstarfish »

xmprt wrote: post #179
ethanbond wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also would comport with the explanation that the Internet just gets worse and worse. Will be interesting to see if kids who grew up with TikTok et al. will, as adults, view it as affectionately as we view our childhood form of the Internet. I do think there's something to be said of an overall trend toward more consumption, less production.

> there's something to be said of an overall trend toward more consumption, less production I think this couldn't be further from the truth. You could argue that the production has been heavily centralized, but I think today more than ever we see kids in their early teens making videos on YouTube/TikTok, etc. It's different from other people's childhoods where you'd make geocities website or customize your myspace pa…

> I think today more than ever we see kids in their early teens making videos on YouTube/TikTok, etc. It's different from other people's childhoods where you'd make geocities website or customize your myspace page or write blogs but it's still production nonetheless.

You are correct, but there is a disappointing shift in the nature of said content.

GeoCities sites and the like were at least labors of love. Your site looked like shit but that's ok, nobody's going to see it anyway.

Tumblr was performative garbage that bridged LiveJournal/Myspace and Instagram. Your site looked like shit but if you say something controversial enough, you'll get a lot of views.

The YouTube/Instagram/TikTok crowd only optimize for engagement, to get as many views as possible. Everything is so over-the-top. You're not making anything out of love, you're making what gets you attention. Your content is professionally-polished and staged to attract eyeballs even if you have nothing to say. (No wonder everybody has an identity crisis; everyone's a child star that's been living for the camera since they got their first iPhone.)

Re: Omegle 2009-2023

#200

Post by hanzmanner »

cortesoft wrote: post #61
SamPatt wrote: post #18

I don't know the whole story, but this seems very genuine. It echoes a sentiment I imagine many people my age feel, where the magic of the early internet we witnessed during our coming of age feels threatened. I feel for him, and hope he's able to move onto other projects which aren't as stressful.

I find it interesting that the "magical period" seems to be determined by your age. For me, the internet has already lost its magic by the time the mid 2000s came around, well before Omegle came out in 2009. For me, the magical period was the early 90s, when I was growing up. In 15 years, are people going to be talking about the current internet as the time when the magic was there? It seems more about the magic of c…

You are right, people have the same sentiment in regards to many other things. A great example is music. The golden age is often the music you and your generation grew up with.

Not sure if this will be true for Internet, but seeing how it already trends in that direction, I wouldn't be surprised. Fully expect today's teenagers reminisce about NFTs, Bored Apes, TikTok as their Internet's magical period.

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