I Was a Teenage Webmaster
The article reminisces about the author's past as a young webmaster, contrasting the early internet's freedom with today's controlled online landscape. It discusses privacy concerns and advocates for a return to community-driven web experiences.
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The article reflects on the author's experience as a teenage webmaster in the early 2000s, highlighting the personal growth and learning opportunities that came with creating and managing a website. The narrative contrasts the nostalgic view of the old, more anarchic and democratized web with the current state of Web 2.0, dominated by big tech platforms and surveillance capitalism. It discusses how the modern web has evolved into a more convenient but less exploratory space, emphasizing the loss of individuality and community-driven content. The piece also delves into the negative impacts of algorithmic surveillance, data monetization, and the erosion of privacy on the internet. It concludes by suggesting a potential redemption through a return to more human-curated and decentralized web experiences, promoting the idea of rediscovering the diverse and authentic voices that still exist online amidst the sea of commercialized content.
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