, stuff like that. Obviously they’ll include the last tweet, whatever it is. How else are they supposed to demarcate the end of the glorious web content revolution?
Personally, I’d begin and end that history with the House of Windsor. When Princess Diana died in 1997, the web was just coming into its own. Cable TV dominated, but online news—the linking between articles, the packaging of stories on homepages, the rich dithered GIFs—suddenly began to feel real and relevant. The tragedy was urgent and shocking and unscripted, and for an early web enthusiast it felt like the big leagues.
Truly giant things—social media platforms, religions, nation-states—don’t really die. They deflate like air mattresses.internet, 1997–2022. I’m grieving a little over here. But life must go on, despite who wins the US midterm elections, who owns Twitter, and how ridiculous the metaverse might be. That’s why every morning, sometimes before breakfast, when I am in despair, I remember the three letters that always bring me comfort: PDF. And then, when I can, I go digging.
This was the original function of the web—to transmit learned texts to those seeking them. Humans have been transmitting for millennia, of course, which is how historians are able to quote Pliny’s last tweet . But the seeking is important, too; people should explore, not simply feed. Whatever will move society forward is not hidden inside the deflating giants.
Do you know the exact day you became hacks? Can you pin point it on your calendar? Did you actually pick a day to become a hack? If it’s so awful, delete your account. Also, he’s not going to date you.
u mad
It's truly a sad time for many. For some, the political dominance which gave the ability to cancel, censor, take things out of context, obfuscate and control the narrative seems to be fading away. It does seem that this era is approaching an end.
It's truly a sad time for many. The technologies that gave the ability to cancel, censor, take things out of context, obfuscate and control the narrative seems to be fading away. Lets hope new ways to silence opposing views can be discovered.
People, users make the internet great. Companies come and go....
Hit the bricks Wired.
Get rekt.
Love seeing Twitter go into chaos
Feel this so much. Been web dev since ‘95, Wired sub when free😁 sold .com just b4 bubble burst. Been yearning for Wild West days w/ cool ideas b/c nobody to copy. Now web is like f’ing digital bedroom community that’s full of same chains. Sucks.
Good riddens. Maybe sanity will replace it. We can always hope.
didn't become revolutionary until '97 huh... interesting
You wrecked my Honda.
Greed
There is value in resets 👍
3rd time is the charm huh ? You know what is really funny ? When they pretend that russia is the one that invented this: Only as funny as Putin being more familiar with the US defense AI, than the DoD.
it was pretty easy to see from working for startups in the dotcom era that the business model that was incentivized by the VC funding pipeline created bad incentives and much more hype than utility. most of these companies are founded with the idea that they will soon sell out.
Great article, thought provoking and superbly written
This essay feels like the child of the Wired I subscribed to when I felt 2400 was too raw and Asimov's was too fantastic. It's also the essay that makes me realize that I'm old. And we're old. The internet is old. It's future isn't ours.
Would be nice if you had an option for subscribers to log in. Da.
SaveToNotion para más tarde
readwise save