Comment thread reflects nostalgia for pre-algorithm internet
3 Sep 21 12:33 PM · 2d ago · 3 comments · 1 source · development 3 of 5
Hacker News commenters began discussing the shift from intentional bookmarking to algorithmic feeds, with multiple users sharing reflections on how the web changed. Discussion centered on why bookmarks became unpopular, the role of browser defaults, and the contrast with early search engines.
“Peak internet was the brief period of time when it was available but we weren't permanently connected. It was an intentional decision to log on, do what you wanted to do, and then disconnect.”
tripleeeAlice Girard Guittard Software engineer, Tsukumogami Software co-founder
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What people said 4 voices · verbatim
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> You didn’t really have one big app that you could open and order it to entertain you. Instead, you had a few dozen of bookmarks to websites, each with a specific idea in mind.This overlooks how common custom homepages such as Lycos, Yahoo! and MSN were and how the browsers pushed these as their default home pages.While they may not be as…
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I cut out Social Media earlier this year, and it's been one of the best decisions I've made. Part of why I started was remembering that we didn't have doom-scrolling apps before smartphones. The change has been tremendous since I've been trying to go back to more "intentional" media. When I find myself distracted and wanting to pick up my phone, I…
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> Instead of picking what we want to see we let other people decide what is supposed to be good for us.100% agree, and this is exactly why I disable any sort of algorithmic recommendations on the platforms I’m active on. I do this either through the app itself or by using those platforms on the web and hiding distracting elements with an extension…
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This is why I like books. No attempt at attention hijacking. Wheras every other modern app tries to claw your eyes out.
All 5 developments of Alice Girard Guittard on algorithm-driven attention capture →
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