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I currently have accounts on Discord, Google+, Reddit, Skype, and Twitter. I still find it awkward and difficult to meet with real human beings to have a civil adult conversation with. The internet was invented for this exact purpose, right? The idea of social interaction with others is supposed to be the greatest part of the internet especially considering its popularity.
I've been on the internet to some degree ever since I was 14-years-old. The idea of connecting with someone else like myself on the internet was so foreign to me because I didn't have a clue what the internet really was when I first ventured onto the "information superhighway".
I quickly found an early version of social media years before Facebook even existed. I cannot remember the website's name but, they had a monthly "celebrity" program that any user could apply for. You only had to take a few photos of yourself, answer a questionnaire, and mail it all in with a form of verification to prove that you were actually the person in the photos. If you were chosen your photos were shown on the front of the home page and you were given a platform to introduce yourself to thousands of other users for an entire month. I was once lucky enough to be picked.
I remember initially being shocked after reading the direct message sent to me by the website's administrators. Then I suddenly realized that I probably got picked because I was the only person that even cared enough to attempt such a thing in the early days of the internet.
The attention I received from being on the front page was intoxicating. I had never had so many people talking to me at one time before. I imagine it was akin to being a celebrity in a much lower form. Trolls didn't exist back then and direct messaging was streamlined and simple. It was all contained in one intranet network. The experience overall was great if you can believe it. Imagine what it would be like if Facebook tried this same experiment today. I'm not on Facebook for a reason.
Another great experience I had came from Talkcity. They were my introduction to chat rooms, Java, and bot games. Talkcity had a great bot game called Ridiculist. It is a trivia-style game where everyone in the room picked their team through text commands. Once the teams were even in numbers the game would start. The bot would name a category, for example, "Name The 50 States Of America.".
Everyone would start furiously typing out as many names of states they could until the time for that round was over. Once the round ended, the bot would randomly pick a list of 10 correct answers from its database and award points to the user who typed out the matching answer first. There were several variations of rounds to play as well. Speed rounds, double point rounds, select a champion rounds, and more.
The best part was that the Ridiculist community was so strong there was a tournament where the championship team would be virtually immortalized in the Ridiculist Hall of Champions website. If that website were still up. I remember it all though, being a part of a championship team back when I went by the username Prodigy7. It was another great time that I remember having on the internet with other people.
What happened to the internet I just spoke of? Who decided that trolls, edge-lords, and shit posters were the people that the internet needed for growth? When was it decided that satire and sarcasm were the only tones to take? Why do so many people choose to communicate cryptically through emotes, reaction gifs, and memes? Where is the exit door from this incarnation of the internet?
I've always liked the idea of being around people and I enjoy having company and friends. I would even settle for just being a likable person but, I've found it increasingly difficult to be that person over the years for whatever reasons. Morgan Freeman as Detective Somerset in the film Seven always comes to mind, "Anyone who spends a significant amount of time with me finds me to be disagreeable."
I can admit I have my faults and I try to take responsibility for who and what I am but, what does it mean if the majority of others on the internet don't?
I've been on the internet to some degree ever since I was 14-years-old. The idea of connecting with someone else like myself on the internet was so foreign to me because I didn't have a clue what the internet really was when I first ventured onto the "information superhighway".
I quickly found an early version of social media years before Facebook even existed. I cannot remember the website's name but, they had a monthly "celebrity" program that any user could apply for. You only had to take a few photos of yourself, answer a questionnaire, and mail it all in with a form of verification to prove that you were actually the person in the photos. If you were chosen your photos were shown on the front of the home page and you were given a platform to introduce yourself to thousands of other users for an entire month. I was once lucky enough to be picked.
I remember initially being shocked after reading the direct message sent to me by the website's administrators. Then I suddenly realized that I probably got picked because I was the only person that even cared enough to attempt such a thing in the early days of the internet.
The attention I received from being on the front page was intoxicating. I had never had so many people talking to me at one time before. I imagine it was akin to being a celebrity in a much lower form. Trolls didn't exist back then and direct messaging was streamlined and simple. It was all contained in one intranet network. The experience overall was great if you can believe it. Imagine what it would be like if Facebook tried this same experiment today. I'm not on Facebook for a reason.
Another great experience I had came from Talkcity. They were my introduction to chat rooms, Java, and bot games. Talkcity had a great bot game called Ridiculist. It is a trivia-style game where everyone in the room picked their team through text commands. Once the teams were even in numbers the game would start. The bot would name a category, for example, "Name The 50 States Of America.".
Everyone would start furiously typing out as many names of states they could until the time for that round was over. Once the round ended, the bot would randomly pick a list of 10 correct answers from its database and award points to the user who typed out the matching answer first. There were several variations of rounds to play as well. Speed rounds, double point rounds, select a champion rounds, and more.
The best part was that the Ridiculist community was so strong there was a tournament where the championship team would be virtually immortalized in the Ridiculist Hall of Champions website. If that website were still up. I remember it all though, being a part of a championship team back when I went by the username Prodigy7. It was another great time that I remember having on the internet with other people.
What happened to the internet I just spoke of? Who decided that trolls, edge-lords, and shit posters were the people that the internet needed for growth? When was it decided that satire and sarcasm were the only tones to take? Why do so many people choose to communicate cryptically through emotes, reaction gifs, and memes? Where is the exit door from this incarnation of the internet?
I've always liked the idea of being around people and I enjoy having company and friends. I would even settle for just being a likable person but, I've found it increasingly difficult to be that person over the years for whatever reasons. Morgan Freeman as Detective Somerset in the film Seven always comes to mind, "Anyone who spends a significant amount of time with me finds me to be disagreeable."
I can admit I have my faults and I try to take responsibility for who and what I am but, what does it mean if the majority of others on the internet don't?
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