Jon22: The Website of Jonathan Dobres

First, Jeffrey Zeldman writes a post saying that the ability to write on the internet, once a thrilling prospect for him, has fallen to the bottom of his priority list. In response, Greg Storey laments that the internet, once a place rife with the excitement of newness and creative possibilities, has devolved into little more than a homogeneous, hyperactive popularity contest. In response to his response, I left a comment on why I think that is. Here’s the expanded version.

This homogeny, the boxy sameness, results largely from the mainstreaming of the internet. In the days of yore, (1996, let’s say) the internet was dominated by techies, cutting edge creative types, or people who felt highly motivated to get their thoughts out on the web for one reason or another. The web’s early community not only had to have a strong level of technical proficiency in a new technology, but also had to feel a strong urge to go through the trouble of applying that technology to communication and creativity. This created an early web that was full of experimentation and eccentricity. There was still lots of noise in those early days. For every Yahoo, a Hamster Dance. For every Hamster Dance, a Bob’s Web Page. Nevertheless, it was an exciting time. The medium was new and the possibilities were limitless.

Move forward eight or ten years. Groups of talented or maybe even business savvy people want to bring that freedom of communication to the masses. Blogger and Myspace finally deliver on what Geocities has been promising for a decade by removing the technological barrier to entry. The tools become so simple and so well implemented that absolutely anyone can have his own site for a minimum of effort. Now the web has been mainstreamed, and the boxes are everywhere. Now you have hordes of people who have been given a stage but have absolutely no idea what kind of show they’d want to put on. These are not people who tremble with delight at the thought of the web’s undiscovered potential. To them the internet is just an extension of their analog lives, and nothing more special than that. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been told by a friend to “Myspace someone” just to get their contact information, like it’s a poorly designed Rolodex. So you see more mainstream interests taking center stage on the web: popularity for popularity’s sake, short attention spans, and ultimately, weblogs that are just as aimless as the real lives they represent (not to get too haughty here).

Still, for every digg horde and Facebook fiasco, there’s an Airbag, Zeldman, or Ze Frank. Now, however, just like in real life, you have to dig a little deeper to find what you really like. Even if Myspace is like an American Idol concert, you can still find that awesome local band that only a much smaller group knows about.

I was an early adopter. As I’ve said, I’ve been making websites since those early days of yore. Though my website today is plain, chronologically listed, and powered by Wordpress (check out the number of results on that link), on some level I resent that I ever put the word “Weblog” in the title. My philosophy is of the old school. This site is a personal scratch pad, a place for me to try new things, even if those things aren’t necessarily new to you. Some of that magic still exists in the modern web (Ze Frank nails it here). At the same time, whenever I post, I try to make sure it’s something that a stranger wouldn’t mind reading, which is not something that a lot of newer, brace for it, bloggers stop to consider. On a good week I get 70 visitors, and I’m okay with that. I update this website because it’s something that for all the noise elsewhere, I still enjoy very much. I suppose that’s my answer to Zeldman’s question.