I was bummed that Xanga is gone, since I know I made at least one personally important Xanga post. BUT, I'm pretty sure I transferred all my Xanga posts to LJ as well!
I, also, recall not being super stoked on LJ in theory. But it was SOOOO popular with the TSR crowd. So much commenting and discussion, that I really got into using it for a few years. I wouldn't be surprised if it's responsible for the forums getting so dead, actually.
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I didn't look there. >.>
In olden times, the Internet was an even more disorganized thing than it is now. Sites were small, and covered usually very niche content. There were veey few professionally managed websites, and the ones that existed were usually just digital brochures for some brick and mortar business. Commerce on the Internet existed, but it wasn't as reliable or as easy as it is today. There was less accountability, and information moved more slowly.
Things have changed a lot. Wikipedia has replaced just about every website you would ever go to to find general information. For more niche info, there's almost guaranteed to be a wiki for that. Big news sites exist catering to most topics, and for many topica they're actually considered a primary news source. They recieve press releases, and have reporters.
We've gained a lot. I would never want to go back to what was. But there are things we've lost as well. And I think it's valuable to consider those things.
The big one for me is the way we socialize on the Internet. With a bbs, a mailgroup, or a forum, you've got a community that exists within human understanding. A village, as it were. Even the largest communities back in the day operated at a concievable scale. And while it didn't always work for the best, these communities were governed by people who were part of them. The ultimate authority on a zelda forum was a zelda fan themselves. And you could talk to them if you needed.
Today, we've given that up. Modern social networks are better in a lot of ways. They're more stable, more consistent, and have made the internet accessible to a broad array of non-tech-savvy folks who were stuck on the outside for many years. But Mark Zuckerberg doesn't give a shit about your zelda facebook group. You'll never be able to talk to him, and you'll never matter within the grand scheme of facebook.
Community admins could be assholes. They could even be bad people, sometimes. But they were still an accessible person who you probably had at least one thing in common with. And you were a member of a community, not a product enticed to participate in your own commodification by a community building device.
What are your thoughts on the evolution of social networking? What are other things we've lost as the Internet has progressed?
27 I'm holdin' on, buddy!!!
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I really don't see it. I wonder if it doesn't show up on the device I'm using, or if I'm going to feel really stupid later.
^ Doesn't post here nearly enough. Spend less time with your child.
< Posts here too much. Should probably have a child.
V Is a child.
Sausage - 13
Eggs - 9
Pancakes - 3 (-3)
Muffins - 6
Biscuit - 2 (+1)
French Toast - 14
I'm sure it does,yeah. No pressure to find it, wait 'til you're at a computer.
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Hrmmmmmn, I don't see it. I gotta find a way to have the whole Cinema forum marked as read without actually opening all those ding-dang anime threads!
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Well, you gotta eat sometime!!!
By the way, is there a way to mark a forum as read? I can't find that function.
I got back to reading 'Athena's Daughters' a few weeks back. It's a short story collection of scifi stories about women, written by women. It's decent, but it's kinda dragging for me.
I also just got my hands on the reprint of Vornheim, widely regarded as one of the most game changing d&d books ever written. I've only just scratched the surface, but if it's half as good as everybody says it is, it's gonna be wild.
I just finished reading 'Tales of the Scarecrow.' Short at only 8 pages, it none-the-less had some phenomenal ideas in it. A solid adventure location, modular, and worth an evening of fun and player death.
I'm a big fan. Much as I enjoy the feel of physically holding a book, eReaders are a game changer. I love mine. They allow authors to self publish their work and actually get it to the masses. Plus, you can usually get the eBook version a whole lot cheaper. And for folms who don't like clutter, it helps a ton. Plus the battery lofe is outta this world on my kindle.
My only complaint is that they're fragile. I broke my screen on my first one, and I've been afraid to take my new one out of the house until I can get a case for it.
It will never replace printed books. But it certainly makes your life easier if you're big into reading, or are an indie author.
Cowboy Beebop is one of the best scifi shows in history. Particularly because of the music.
Azumanga Daioh will always have a special place in my heart though. Watching it always makew me feel good inside, until the last episode where I cry like a bitch.
I downloaded the first two. Watched a few minutes of the first one. John Hughes really was a skilled writer in so many ways. He understood children in a way few adults do. A shame he was taken from us so young.
I think I'm gonna male a day of it with my lady. Pizza, wine, and a 2-part Home Alone marathon.
Yes he does. He never gives up.
(My reference game is pn point like you don't even KNOW!)
I also still have my livejournal. I even used it as recently as 2010, before I started Comma, Blank_. My old blogger blog that really got me going in the tabletop community.
I've also got a xanga floatong around out there, I think.
I would probably use twitter and instagram more if I had a smartphone. Smart devices seem like a prerequisite for really engaging with today's social networks. Much as I don't like smart devices, I also feel as thpugh I lack agency sometimes because I don't have one.
If you wouldn't mind, what is scary about zombies to you?
I used to find the whole 'walking corpse' idea pleasantly unsettling. But at this point I'm desencitized to it. I've actually spent a lot of time trying to make it scary for myself again, with no luck.
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You gotta sleep sometime!
