This internet thing is out of control.

I remember when I first made a website I was 12 years old. I was so excited that I could put up colorful backgrounds and links to wav files. It had some jokes and flashing animated gifs. The site was tacky, but it was my own and on par with all the others at the time.

I'd have so much fun watching the amazing counter go up and up. I remember it won some awards. I was even excited about Netscape 3 coming out.

The next website I made was for my first band 'Slavegrinder'. The code was written on MS notepad (the best program MS ever made) in one afternoon, while my friend Jene played video games. I quickly figured out how to add a forum and put the thing in place. Our page was the first local band site with a message board. The forum took off. It was the first port of call for most local users. Before e-mail or porn, they'd go to the Slavegrinder message board. Even other bands would use it to communicate with each other.

Soon enough forums became more easily accessible and ours lost it's momentum. It was still wildly successful however and amassed thousands of posts in its two year history. Our site was simple, effective, competitive and popular.

Now.. no hope, websites are media savvy, widget laden, script, cookie, video conglomerates of brain melting complexity. Networks interact and grow, spawn and share, and the rest are left behind. To remain competitive users now must rely on provided frameworks and social hubs a-la myspace. etc.

In a way it's sad. Yet I love it. This revolution is growing so quick that many of us are going to miss it.

On a forum discussing the Internet, and the way networks and social interactions are changing for all of us, a poster wrote this,

"LIFE HAS CHANGED FOR THE BETTER - ENJOY THE NEW WORLD WE LIVE


EVOLUTION FEELS REALLY GOOD"

I agree.

Some folks are so caught up with the past.. the past was two years ago. This thing is moving, FAST.
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Here are some insane links to the sort of stuff that even makes me feel old.

Jetset
This is an excellent internet pop culture show. The host is a bit of a dork but the info is worth it. I got these other links from it.

Viropop
Good tongue in cheek environment show, with annoying host.

Kompoz.com
Collaborate online and make music with other people all over the world.

Metalchik
Metalwork and Jewelry making guides and videos.

(These sites are all hosted by NextNewNetworks. I'm really impressed with these guys business model and ideas. That's why I'm plugging them.)

Also..

The Hype Machine
This site links to music blogs and what new music they are discussing. It's good for finding new artists without relying on Last.Fm's crappy and limited knowledge.

Talking about the addictive yet average service Last.Fm offers, here's a fancy widget with pics of albums I like. Enjoi.