I don’t think it’s exaggerating to say that in the last ten years (at least), social media’s impact has been a mixed bag — mostly questionable. Right now, I’m watching the bird with… interest?
My idealism wants the medium to draw people into more genuine contact, generate/share beauty, and unite for common good, common ground. Does it? Yes. To what extent? Less than you might think, according to Pew and others.
Comparison. Isolation. Great swathes of time, slaves to the algorithm.
Which led me to dream of the 90s. Remember webrings? Geocities? Surfing the “world wide web” pre-Google/Duck/et.al? As Brittany Vincent says, “Believe it or not, the internet used to feel a lot cozier.” Rawer. Less curated and artificial.
I don’t think webrings are coming back. I wonder though… is there a way similar non-commercial websites can link up? I still see (mostly older) musicians who still keep a “Friends” page, or throw in enough outbound links so you don’t feel like you’re stuck in Ikea when you visit their site.
This is a month of dreams, conjuring. Perhaps a line of code that sends you to another site in the “network” when you bounce off the previous one — with permission, of course? That element of chance. Like radio.
It’s in the trees! It’s coming!
In the meantime, if you’re considering the future of your site, let’s converse.
