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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

#251

Post by [deleted] »

coffeebeqn wrote: post #35
jonhohle wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even the fun things “on the internet” are mostly still possible, it’s just the bulk of things we do now are not fun and main companies aren’t quirky risk takers but the oil/train/steel barons of our day. In the past few years I’ve done serveral of the things on your list in earnest and they are all easier to do today (specifically technical things) than they were 25 years ago (except maybe writing with a pen). Edit t…

Don’t try to make money from it and you can still do fun things in life

[deleted]

Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#253

Post by damnesian »

coffeebeqn wrote: post #35
jonhohle wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even the fun things “on the internet” are mostly still possible, it’s just the bulk of things we do now are not fun and main companies aren’t quirky risk takers but the oil/train/steel barons of our day. In the past few years I’ve done serveral of the things on your list in earnest and they are all easier to do today (specifically technical things) than they were 25 years ago (except maybe writing with a pen). Edit t…

Don’t try to make money from it and you can still do fun things in life

many livings are based on it now, though.

I guess platforms like TikTok might better be thought of as "want to peep in on what a bunch of people do for money now?" which makes it feel (paradoxically, since it is a performance) a bit invasive and unseemly.

Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#254

Post by bakugo »

ux266478 wrote: post #213
bakugo wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does this accomplish? You could always write some words on a paper and then throw that paper into a fire, you don't need the internet to do that. The whole appeal of the internet was that you could write about some random niche thing you liked and reliably find other people who liked the same thing . It was never about screaming into a void or otherwise "doing things for yourself". It sucks now specifically beca…

That hasn't been my experience. The problem is do you expect it to be seen by thousands upon thousands of people? That wasn't a thing back then and it's not now either. You get a handful of hits, as you always did. The big numbers are the algorithm's game, though for many people, they've become normalized. If 1000 people see your niche little project, that's a failure by modern standards. That was huge success for a…

I feel like we're talking about fundamentally different things here. I'm not talking about Show HN style "look at my project, everyone!" stuff. I'm talking about literally just speaking to other like-minded people about your interests, on an equal level, without any expectation of garnering attention for yourself.

Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#256

Post by JKCalhoun »

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

Ha ha, just discovered these kids from 1989 using their parent's camcorder:

https://youtu.be/IvHaL2BxqvM?t=151

We can still do that.

Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#257

Post by towers »

munificent wrote: post #233
clickety_clack wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> what it is that you’re doing that puts you in a place where you are made to feel that way. I live in the US, read the news, and have relationships with other people. I lived through a global pandemic several years ago and know people who lost loved ones. Now the head of HHS in the US doesn't believe in vaccines. My kids go to school and we've had multiple lockdowns because of shootings nearby. My company and all of…

> My daughter is trying to figure out where to go to college and I don't know what to tell her because I don't know what careers will exist after AI.

It is rather upsetting to see. I have a unique perspective in that I’m currently a college student in the US pursuing a degree in Computer Engineering. A lot of my peers have been of a constant plight of not having opportunity in the form of internships, co-ops, whatever it may be and I’m guilty of it myself.

From what I’ve observed, and have been personally fortunate to benefit from, connections seem to be the way amidst ATS, layoffs, shrinking budgets and otherwise. I’ve also seen a fair share of people going to graduate school, possibly out of fear of graduating into a bleak market, but some have done so to become more specialized and I think that’s a good approach, maybe something to discuss with your daughter. Just my two cents.

Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#258

Post by scoofy »

creamynebula wrote: post #243
DarkNova6 wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The whole structure has changed. We are not even in the web 2.0 anymore and regressed to a client-server model where what we see is dictated from central platforms with little interaction between actual users. This was not a natural evolution of the web but the consequence of low-tech people accessing the web passively via a tiny touchscreen.

More like a consequence of capitalism, as big tech companies used their massive capital to instrumentalize and develop knowledge to keep mostly everyone dependent and addicted to their systems. Due to the way capitalism work, when a push back against it through public policies was staged, they bought their way out of regulation of their toxic platforms and were allowed to retain their monopolies.

Capitalism as unbridled greed is a bad meme. Sweden is a capitalist country. Germany is a capitalist country. In the US, we are moving from a high-trust society to a low-trust society, which is why the effects of capitalism are moving from a rising tide lifting all boats to a zero-sum game where my success means your suffering.

Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#259

Post by jprs »

sspiff wrote: post #93

OP, the Badger Badger link is leading to a wiki page about the dead Internet theory. Here's the correct link for all to enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIyixC9NsLI Used to be just a Flash animation on Weebl's stuff, but preserved on YouTube by the OG :)

Thank you, fixed!

Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#260

Post by mjhay »

uncircle wrote: post #223
mjhay wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thrift and vintage stores have been pivoting to the premium consumer as well.

WTF is the premium consumer of a thrift store?

The kind of consumer thrift stores want to sell to. They don’t have to be real.
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