I wish it was 1999
:// INTRO
The internet is pretty cool, in this day and age, we probably could not live without it.
I have been online since the early 2000s, I guess that would make me a “grizzled-ancient”. When I first jumped online everything was cool. Too cool even, it was literally the wild west. Every domain was an adventure, every URL was its own unique world and experience.
What a time to be alive.
God bless America.
Today, the internet sort of sucks. Gone are those days of discovery and unique styles in which each webmaster flexed their big-swinging-dick HTML skills. And some flash too. Damn those .swf files ^_^
:// DAYS GONE
When you jump online today in 2020, which is the start of a new decade, everything looks the same. Prove me wrong. Linked-In, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
I’m a 3D guy, so I love creeping on sites like Polycount. There’s some amazing stuff there, back in 2008-ish, when you would click on an artist’s profile you would be transported to some of that HTML magic I was talking about earlier. Do that today and you’ll be sent to their profile on Artstation.
Don’t get me wrong, Artstation is a fantastic site full of excellent resources for the Digital Art community. But I can’t see an artist’s personality in their profile. For example, I could easily find five artists who could model a Darth Vader like nobody’s business. Throw in a little Maya, some ZBrush, and that PBR workflow and boom. Current-gen ready.
But who’s cool? Who’s weird and who is still living in their momma’s basement?
Beats me, those five profiles look the same. Even though they have different projects, I can’t get a “feel” for their personal-flare.
Hell, even some of my favorite recording artists link to their Bandcamp profile which again, looks the same.
Creating a website is no simple task, launching it is a project in itself, not to mention updating it and posting regularly as well.
But dude, there are tools out there today that back in 2008 someone would have probably told you to stop smoking crack, that a toolset which would enable you to set up a site in a “friendly” way without dropping a single line of HTML or CSS would never exist.
Yet here we are today.
I am the dumbest person I know, and even I managed to do it. Not once, thrice.
:// THAT FRIENDS LIST
Luckily throughout my life, I have been fortunate to meet a variety of cool, interesting and talented people.
There is the argument that not everything is art. That’s stupid. If someone made something, from scratch, either physical or digital then that’s God-Damn art.
It doesn’t matter if it’s code, a printed photograph, or a sculpture. If you made it [and FINISHED it] then that’s fucking art.
That is where the title from this post comes in. I have friends who love to cook, players that can create anything in 3D, and some dudes even make their own furniture from industrial scrap. Another buddy has a workshop at home, he is currently making custom Barbie furniture for his daughter’s dollhouse. Another player, also from the same circle likes to cook and make drinks, dude even made a custom rack for his collection. There is also a buddy with whom I used to work with who likes to write, and damn do they write well. Unfortunately, their posts are few and far between.
Now in this medley of personalities, it is obvious that some of those pimps have the technical chops to create something like a personalized web space where they could share their work. Others understandably do not have that ability and that’s OK. All they have to do is ask around and they could be referred to something like WordPress.
If you can sign-up for Facebook then you know how to sign up for a blogging platform [or similar services] as well.
Want to customize that bad boy? Check on the control panel in your dashboard under “customize”. See that pattern?
The internet was not only created for selfies and porn. It’s a magical space where information is at your fingertips, all you have to do is stop scrolling down that endless feed of selfies [with dirty bathrooms in the background] and read.
As we grow older, we fall into the “ways of the internet” which have been taught to us. Want to communicate with friends? Then you need social media.
Well, I disagree.
Socials are [somewhat] cool. But they are not the be-all-end-all.
It’s funny how people will refuse to sign up for something like a forum, even if it is based off of some of their favorite hobbies and topics.
But they will jump at the chance to overshare their personal lives on a forum like Facebook. Yes, Facebook is actually a forum. Uncategorized, but a forum none the less.
Yes, this is Anime.
:// YOU’VE GOT MAIL
The internet is stale because we choose to make it so. Every profile looks the same even though we are all different, every website has the carousel at the top with the latest five or so posts. Every time you scroll upwards to type in a new address we are asked if we want to join the mailing list so we won’t miss a post.
Hell no, fuck off.
I just want to browse online.
Anyone reading this is an artist, create my friends. Share your work and be proud of it. Remove all of your fears when it comes to expressing yourself online. Share your passions with everyone around you, that is how people discover new interests and continue to grow, even in this fast-paced adult life.
Make the internet cool again.
Make the internet yours.