The internet is reversing significantly

[Markola]

^^^^ +1. Well said. Anonymous, ad-free browsing with global value transfers using the BAT token is one crack in the current edifice. Another is the Jack Dorsey-funded, utterly decentralized and censorship resistant Twitter alternative NOSTR, on which sats is the native currency. Sats can be purchased with fiat and the sent instantly and virtually free of fees to anyone on the internet via the Lightning protocol. These experiments are growing and they conjure the outline of the next, less-corporate internet.

 

[rodi]

Add me to the group that appreciates how to garner info, quickly, on the internet, cull out the nonsensical stuff, and find the nuggets of useful info.

I don't like gathering info via video, unless it's something that truly qualifies as a 'picture is better than a thousand words'. Example of useful video - mechanics and home repair videos on specific topics... today hubby was watching youtubes on how to fix the fan clutch on a 2000 Dodge... word descriptions are less useful. But if it's news, finance, etc, I want it in text so I can skim quickly to the part that interests me.

I'm not overly bothered by ads. I'm more bothered by sites that use subscriptions and STILL have pop up or heavy ads. It should be one or the other.

Lots of super useful tools on the internet from banking, to whatsap, to travel search engines (I'm looking at you flights.google.com). I can't imagine planning a trip, or paying my bills while on a trip, without the internet.

 

[Amethyst]

The hobby and niche-interest sites I frequent are on FB presently. I'm glad I always used a pseudonym on FB.

My guess is you are not less well informed. Probably just the opposite. I think video doesn’t inform well and share the same preference for text over video. This may be a generational thing, as my children all seem to prefer video.

I think in general the sense of loss of a more personable internet is because as things become popular they get monetized, and this drives the amateurs and hobbiests away. I think many, or ant least some, are still out there, but more difficult to find.

 

[JoeWras]

The hobby and niche-interest sites I frequent are on FB presently. I'm glad I always used a pseudonym on FB.

I guess I was one of the idiots who signed up true to form with my real name back in '06 or so.

For FB marketplace, I thought having real information would be useful. NOPE!

As for participating in interest sites: not going to do it with a real name due to the weirdos. I got enough of that just casually looking for a used car early this year.

It is broken.

 

[Pellice]

I agree, video is hard and time-consuming for information. I really miss bulletin boards and forums, and am glad this one exists.

 

[JoeWras]

Anyone use the internet to look for a new car?

The info is there, but it is manipulated.

I guess you can say things moved forward for dealers and manufacturers. It has reversed for buyers.

There was a sweet spot in the early 2000s where you could get raw information and inventory fast. Now you get the feeling it has been cultured for you. It is slower too.

 

[audreyh1]

My guess is you are not less well informed. Probably just the opposite. I think video doesn’t inform well and share the same preference for text over video. This may be a generational thing, as my children all seem to prefer video.

This is why I stopped watching news video long ago. Often extremely superficial and then at some point opinion as news, what the man on the street thinks, spin etc, really took over. Reading news online is much more productive especially finding an in depth treatment of something of interest. You do have to watch your sources of written information these days though - so much drive by click-bait out there.

 

[Jenna]

I enjoy... The Free Press. Quality content like I used to enjoy on 60 minutes...more indepth articles with actual substance. And I agree with you completely..so much trash to sift through.

 

[catii]

Sigh. I was using the Internet when it was still ARPANET, back in 1978, sending geophysical data from the field, to several universities & the U.S. Department of Energy. It wasn't easy, but it was convenient, & I communicated directly with other engineers & scientists. I tried to ignore the civilian Internet, when it arrived, but it took the Web to suck me in.

The only "social" media I use is LinkedIn, but under Microsoft, it's rapidly becoming useless! I don't care how many people "noticed" me, I don't want "invitations" from random people, & I'm sick & tired of Microsoft trying to suck me into answering important-looking questions! In short, I do my best to never get monetized!

I agree that there are still some useful Web-sites, but you have to really search for them. For those of us who collect Japanese Nihonto (swords), the Nihonto Message Board (https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/) is a tightly-run site with an incredible amount of information! For those of us who train in martial arts, my own e-Budo (https://e-budo.com) has more than 25 years of information!

I use multiple ad-blockers, pop-ups have to ask my permission, & I can't be tracked. I use an anti-virus/-malware/-ransomware software package you've never heard of (https://www.sophos.com) that has protected me for a decade (Hint: their free trial will operate forever, even if they'd like you to buy it after 30 days).

Working around the Web's bullsh*t is possible, if you're willing to take the time & effort.

 

[pc95]

I used to like real paper newspapers, and now get online papers including
NYT, Washington Post, WSJ, LAT, ..... I usually now just subscribe when strong promotions - i.e. $6 for 6 months recently for WSJ, cancel before full-price kicks in and repeat the next promotion allowable......I find these papers have pretty good for information. They aren't really forums though. I like WSJ best I think.

And then investing for me is a quasi-hobby, so I do like bogleheads and seeking alpha. I spend a good 2 hours online a day easy, and I'm not retired.

And then I do follow sports and follow a sports forum.

For me, the internet hasn't changed much - I never got into Facebook, Twitter etc....I do use Youtube here and there.

But I'm pleased with the internet - its provided much entertainment, information, and some learning. Google Maps has become a a way of life too.
Have learned to check the route now as necessary pre-driving step for anything over a couple miles.

 

[athena53]

As for participating in interest sites: not going to do it with a real name due to the weirdos. I got enough of that just casually looking for a used car early this year.

It is broken.

I had an account on NextDoor.com using a fake name. At one point in a discussion on answering the door to strangers, I posted that I was 70 and lived alone so I did not. Some kind person suggested I not volunteer that info and I replied that I used a fake name.

NextDoor quietly dropped me. I didn't realize it or find out why till I stopped getting postings and got onto the site.

The only "social" media I use is LinkedIn, but under Microsoft, it's rapidly becoming useless! I don't care how many people "noticed" me, I don't want "invitations" from random people, & I'm sick & tired of Microsoft trying to suck me into answering important-looking questions! In short, I do my best to never get monetized!

I also see too many posts on LinkedIn that belong on FaceBook. I don't need/want to know the politics of my LinkedIn connections and while I'll offer prayers, sympathy and whatever other help I can provide when I learn of personal struggles on FB or elsewhere, I don't think they belong on LinkedIn and I don't respond to them there.

 

[Music Lover]

The core problem is, people expect all content on the internet to be free. It’s not. Someone has to pay for the server space and updates, etc.

Raise your hand if you have any idea who pays for the Early Retirement Forum for your use every day? I have no idea but someone is paying for it.

Free? I pay $XX per month for internet service and I guess I naively thought that paid for my internet usage.

 

[pb4uski]

Free? I pay $XX per month for internet service and I guess I naively thought that paid for my internet usage.

You misinterpreted Markola's post that said that many people expect all content to be free. Your $XX per month is for access... content is an additional cost for streaming services, newspaper subscriptions, etc. We subscribe to 3 streaming services (Prime, Netflix and Paramount+) and a couple different newspapers (WaPo and NYT) and Sirius XM.

 

[jollystomper]

Free? I pay $XX per month for internet service and I guess I naively thought that paid for my internet usage.

Your internet services pays for you riding along the internet structure, akin to getting access to ride on a highway.

Where you decide to venture off the internet highway exits into interesting places may or may not cost you. That is the difference.

 

[athena53]

The last few days a friend and I stayed at a B&B where they had newspapers. Real newspapers. We devoured the Wall Street Journal and the St. Lois Post-Dispatch. Wow. No ads cluttering the sides and stuck in between paragraphs. No useless rambling to maximize space for ads. Headlines that actually told what the article contained. Intelligent Letters to the Editor instead of a Comments section filled with anonymous squabbling.

I may have to break down and get a subscription to a real paper- the electronic version, to save trees and delivery costs.

 

[JoeWras]

I broke down and subscribed.

 

[Route246]

Insider trick/hack:

Next time you can't seem to find the ACTUAL website for a hotel because of all of the links prepending in a search try the search in Google Maps. More likely than not the corporate website might be in the maps data which is not contaminated with all of the paid placement that a generic search might have.

Your mileage may vary, literally.

Yeah that searching on a hotel and then having to dodge a bunch of reservations sites before getting to the hotel website really gets me. Incredibly annoying! Some of the sites even try to pose as the official hotel website.

 

[Route246]

In networking terminology of the OSI model you are paying for layer 3 (network layer, internetworking layer, etc.) only. This gives you a unique presence on the big-I Internet, in a sense it is like a toll road. You pay the toll and it doesn't include hamburgers from the McDonalds at the oasis on the turnpike. The ads on layer 7 have little or nothing to do with the service provided on layer 3 in the stack.

Services like Google, FB, Twitter are like timeshare condo promotions. You view their pitches (in this case content that lures you into the hotel conference room) and hopefully click on the ads that come along with it. It's like getting that free trip to Vegas or other unfree gift for showing up and listening.

Free? I pay $XX per month for internet service and I guess I naively thought that paid for my internet usage.

 

[JoeWras]

OSI layer model? Oh no, w*rk flashbacks. I'm breaking out in a sweat.[emoji3]