Text and Hubris

I’ve been spending a lot of time pining for the Internet I knew in the 90′s. Back then, it was a hidden world full of geeks and hackers playing with technology and exploring just how far that tech could take us. We communicated with each other, we learned from one another, and slowly the rest of the world jumped on board. Of course, by that time the Internet was no longer a plaything. It was big business and that meant it had to be controlled. Content and copyright became the watchwords, the DMCA took affect, and slowly the Internet became television.

I should add that, as far as television goes, the Internet sucks. It’s nothing more than a huge reality show put on by ourselves and the people around us. Essentially, we’ve all been turned into actors in the world’s largest “Truman Show” and that is a sad, sad thing. I know, I know! There are a lot of people who love what’s it’s become but to me it’s nothing less than the AOLer’s revenge. All those things that I valued about the Internet so long ago seemed to have disappeared into the inane ramblings of a populace more interested in consuming than creating.

So there I was, pining for the good old days and bitching about today. It was easy. After all, there is so much to bitch about. That’s is the nasty thing about nostalgia. It’s addictive and it’s easy. It’s also complete bullshit. Nothing has changed as much as it seems. Sites like Make and Instructables are thriving. There is a growing and vibrant DIY community that is filled with incredible people who are, daily, pushing the limits of our understanding. The same is true for any aspect of the arts. Those creators are still out there and – shockingly enough – they’re actually growing in number. The only thing that has truly changed is the scope and size of the Internet. It’s become a much bigger place now and those odd creative-types are a bit harder to find than they used to be. After all, it’s a lot easier to get lost amongst the Facebooks and Hulus of todays corporate-mediated media. The actual talent is still around, though, and that gives me hope. I accept that the mainstream world may never fully embrace those who wander on the edge but as long as the edge is there and it is accessible by anyone then I am happy. When we write, when we create, and when we build, we continue the tradition that marks our evolution as a species. I hope that I, even in some limited way, can help add to that.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 1:25 pm and is filed under Evolving Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.