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dirtynj t1_iua7fjv wrote

Reply to comment by -REDDIT-USERNAME- in Nostalgic website in 90s “Geocities” style for tracking Halloween movies 📼🎃 by rgthree

Before ads ruined the web.

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MC_Fap_Commander t1_iuandf2 wrote

That's certainly true, but the arrival of real world divisions also hurt the online space.

At that time, the internet was the tribe. Certainly some exceptions, but there was a general sense of commonality online back then. We were all still sort of the weirdos who made the place go.

As the internet became a widely used corporate mass media space, it seemed to lead to the hostility, acrimony, and division we see in the "real world." I wonder sometimes if the need for market segmentation was pushed online for purposes of creating advertising demographics.

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deathlydope t1_iuav8yn wrote

> As the internet became a widely used corporate mass media space, it seemed to lead to the hostility, acrimony, and division we see in the "real world." I wonder sometimes if the need for market segmentation was pushed online for purposes of creating advertising demographics.

Maybe, but it's just as likely an inherent side-effect of the increase in population online.

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MC_Fap_Commander t1_iuaw581 wrote

It probably makes sense. Early internet was not user friendly or cheap so I think there was a bit of a selection bias in who used it. When online access was made as easy as tapping a phone button, a very different sort of population arrived online. They brought their identity biases with them. For a lot of us in the 90's, the internet was our identity.

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BeatlesTypeBeat t1_iub97p9 wrote

No one claims to be a netizen anymore.

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PandaMoveCtor t1_iuarh4v wrote

This was the era of a thousand non-closeable pop ups and flashing banners. I would much rather a targeted ad than that shit.

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dirtynj t1_iub407f wrote

At least I got free dialup internet with NetZero for have that banner

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RogueDevlin t1_iucd68v wrote

I also hate the "you cannot see this in your region"...

The internet was supposed to be a borderless space...

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