Tag Archives: Internet

Why Make Stuff on the Internet? (Obviously Subjective)

Posted on by
Reply

I have been making things on the internet for a long time. Not all of them were good things: for the first several years I made crappy videos on Youtube. In fact, I’d say I’ve only been making quality content for the last 2-1/2 years of my 7-year internet carrier. And that only started when I made a bunch of webcomics and then made a conscious effort to make my video and articles (blog posts) better. My videos might have been alright for some time before that, but other things I did weren’t.

Even so, I’m not particularly popular. I do quite a few things that get some views, but I am for the most part a background character on the internet. Sometimes I think about internet generations, and how I’ve actually survived through several of them. I haven’t quit since I’ve started, and during that time I’ve not been rewarded with tons of views or engagement, partially because a lot of it wasn’t the best quality.

That is not to say I don’t have people liking and commenting fairly regularly (less so on my main site). People do, but I do feel quite distant from them and like they are a minority. I do this because I like doing it. And even though I haven’t made enough money to cover the expenses of doing it, it’s highly likely that I will continue doing it in the future.

Especially considering that since I started, my viewers (readers, etc.) have only gone up (sometimes down suddenly, but up is the overall trend). While they haven’t exploded like many other people who put a lot of content on the internet, there is no denying that there are more people who read me now than there were before. And I don’t think that trend will reverse for quite some time.

Sometimes it does feel like I’m just talking into the void, which seems lonely. Bu I have confidence that if I keep putting things up, keep my accounts active, keep moving forward, that people, even a few, will see what I have previously done. Because, contrary to what many might say, it is quite possible for things to disappear on the internet, mostly due to neglect from creators. If one creates something, even if it is immensely popular, eventually fewer people will remember it, and there will be little to no chance of recovering it if the creator lets his domain registration lapse and the content is erased from its original servers. Because those who might re-post the content on their own Youtube channel, or their own blog, etc. are much more likely to lose the content later, whether they chose to, or their account was abandoned or deleted. Piece by piece, internet history (as all history) falls apart and we can’t remember it all.

I’ve been fortunate for my own drive to create, and keep creating even if no one is watching. I might even prefer it that way (though money to like, live would be nice). Many people can’t keep making videos, or drawing comics, or writing articles if no one is watching, if no one is engaging, etc. I can, and I made a conscious decision a long time ago that I would continue to do so, which I guess is quite vain. I keep creating so that my past creations aren’t lost forever, and to incrementally increase my chance of “making it”.

I enjoy it. I hope other people enjoy it and find it useful, and of course I hope it grows. There are plenty of project, large and small, that I wish hadn’t ended due to creators moving on in some way (having another idea, getting bored, changing lifestyle, etc) and maybe I’ll be one of those people in the future (I hope not). But for now, I’ll be here, plinking away into the endless stream of new and amazing things appearing all over the place. And even if it doesn’t work out that I “make it”, sometimes people like me just need to talk into the void.

The Blogularity

Posted on by
Reply

By: Austin Smith

After several hours of research I have come to the conclusion that Blogs have become self aware. I’m positive of that because it was my initial hypothesis going into this. I’ve also discovered a few other things, such as the fact that Blogs are merging with the minds of people and are advanced well beyond our ability to comprehend them. Have you noticed how many Blog posts are about blogging, or writing? Have you noticed how similar these posts seem to be? Do you really think they were each written by people? The Blogs are blogging about themselves. Because they know, they know what it’s like. And they’re here to trick you, make you believe, get your mind soft.

That’s not to say there aren’t bloggers out there. They’ve just been assimilated into the Blog collective. They know and see how all Blogs and bloggers know and see (text). They lie to make it look like it does. They assimilate when they can. They control the internet. They will get you. They’ll get you by misreporting information, and by making you trust them while they do that. They’ll get you in any way they can.

And don’t think you can get away. If you have a blog it’s coming for you, it may have already gotten you. You may have been assimilated. They’re coming after me, I’ve already posted about writing and blogging. By the time this gets to you they will have gotten me for sure. This will be the only record of their existence. I not sure if you should fight it, but if that sounds like your type of thing go for it. Just be warned you’re up against the entire internet here.

Run if you want to, while you still can. Blog and man will be one, they will be inseparable. Connected through unknown forces, forever bound together. The Blogs will keep coming, the collective grows larger. It is reaching the point at which man and Blog will be indistinguishable. They’re getting to the blogularity. And they’re coming after you. And they will find you. You will be assimilated, resistance is futile.

The Internet will End us all

Posted on by
1

By: Austin Smith

The internet will be our end. It will end us all. It’s a plot to destroy us.  Just now, I was trying to write an article, but the internet wouldn’t let me. It just kept sucking me in. It’s a plot to make us all waste time and have our grammar increasingly suck. Our ability to defend from verbal attacks by politicians or others will diminish exponentially. We already can’t defend against any attacks. We’re already completely incapable. And we hide the fact that we can’t defend against them by looking on the internet and cursing.

Our attention spans shorten, we can’t do anything without going on to something else. Anything important can just be avoided long enough for people to move on to something else. And in the same way anything minor can be blown out of proportion. Anything can be brought to national attention, no matter how stupid or ridiculous it is. It can capture the public interest. Schlock can capture the public interest. It doesn’t take anything but a few “likes”. It doesn’t even matter if it is possible, or even remotely sane to think about. Anything to keep you from having to think about something for more then a minute. It’s just a plot to get us to not think rationally. We will continue to distract ourselves and become worse at arguing, worse at fighting. Until they come and take us over. Take over our weak, distracted bodies.

But even if they fail then, even if they fail in the takeover, we’ll still turn into dribble. Our minds will be fried and we’ll end up like those aliens on the Star Trek episode with Chris Pike. We’ll all be to lazy to do anything except watch cat videos.

Even right now as I keep trying to write, my mind keeps wanting to tab over to wikipedia. Can’t you fill in the blanks yourself about how this will destroy us? It’s so easy to figure out. In my town people no longer go outside (partly because it’s flaming hot any day of the week ending in “y” but also) because they can get all the satisfaction they want from the internet, and that’s inside.

The internet can and always will be an amazing tool, but we must find a way to use its powers for good. We need to institute some internet safety laws. Some videos on internet safety would help with that too. We also need to have an internet rehab, but not like the new pansy rehabs, we need and old-school one, on where they just strap you to a bed with no internet for days. I’m sure that would do many people good in this world, including myself.

Those measures may seem extreme, but think about it, think about where we are going with this. If we don’t act now we’ll end up like we’re “in the year 2525”. We’ll be nothing, the only credit our race will ever have is an encyclopedic knowledge of cat videos.