• FaceDeer@fedia.io
    45·
    3 months ago

    Long ago, when I first got on the Internet, the big social media forum was Usenet. It was a distributed network of instances where users would have an account on a particular instance, where they could subscribe to “newsgroups” dedicated to particular topics. Their instance would broadcast their posts to a newsgroup to all the other instances that were following that newsgroup, so everyone could interact even if they were on different instances.

    Then the World Wide Web grew, and centralized sites like Digg and Reddit appeared that handled the same sort of social media. Usenet faded. It’s still around, I suppose, though these days last I checked it’s largely a mechanism for distributing pirated files.

    Someday those centralized sites might also fade. Who knows, maybe a decentralized system like Usenet might grow again to replace it?

    The wheel turns.

    • Broadfern@lemmy.worldEnglish
      21·
      3 months ago

      So Usenet was the first fedi site? Reassuring that the concept predates the current paradigm and still has legs, however niche it is atm.

      • B-TR3E@feddit.orgEnglish
        6·
        3 months ago

        That’s why almost no ISP is offering it anymore. No one made money from it, so dump it, maybe try to squeeze some cash out of those hwo really want it but better just drop it.

  • B-TR3E@feddit.orgEnglish
    72·
    3 months ago

    …and YouTube is one of the major reasons. The web’s not a fucking TV and if you’re using it as a TV you’ll get stupid even faster than from watching actual TV.

    • MimicJar@lemmy.worldEnglish
      6·
      3 months ago

      Wouldn’t that depend on what you’re watching?

      You can watch reality TV on YouTube, or traditional television.

      You can watch educational content and documentaries on YouTube, or traditional television.

      Hell you can watch some traditional TV shows on YouTube or traditional television.

      YouTube is just a platform for hosting content. Now they may have a “better” algorithm compared to traditional television, but that doesn’t really change much.

      • B-TR3E@feddit.orgEnglish
        2·
        3 months ago

        Well, have a look what content is getting the most views. I had no idea someone could be that stupid.

        • Passerby6497@lemmy.world
          English
          4·
          3 months ago

          Well, have a look what TV show is getting the highest ratings. I had no idea someone could be that stupid.

          I’ve heard this argument for like 30 years. Everything old is new again.