The Internet has failed (TLP 2024w21)

In the early days of the Internet, we thought it would bring enlightenment via free knowledge, instead we have hate, division, toxicity. Notes: In the early days of the Internet, we thought it would bring enlightenment via free knowledge, "the greatest library ever known". Instead we have hate, division, toxicity...where did it all go wrong? The optimists need to regroup. I still remember the first time I dialed onto the Internet, using an old PC with a modem in a public library. It was so exciting, I had all of that information at my finger tips! In the early days in the 1990s, we we genuinely excited about the "information superhighway", but now we have the "disinformation swamp". There used to be a technical barrier to entry to publish something online: you needed to be able to write some basic HTML code, and upload it to a server somewhere. Now, with the advent of user-generated platforms like X, Facebook, and TikTok, ANYONE can publish content online from their smartphones with no effort required. As a result, we are swamped in poor-quality content. Imagine a library where each book is the random stream of consciousness of anonymous Internet users, shouting abuse at each other. That is the library we have built, and it's terrible. I no longer believe it is a net good. The most perverse trend of all is the growth of technology skepticism online, with neo-Luddites using technology to spread their dislike of technology, without any sense of hypocrisy. We are a few news cycles away from angry righteous mobs attacking data centers, encouraged to do so via their smartphones. What I am working on this week: Behind on dev projects this week. Media I am enjoying this week: The Revenge of the Rose by Michael Moorcock. https://centipedepress.com/fantasy/elric5u.html Notes and subscription links are here: https://techleader.pro/a/645-The-Internet-has-failed-(TLP-2024w21)