In memory of the Good Internet
Being done with the internet, going on hiatus, and cool publications to follow in the interim.
Do you remember the good internet? The weird, fun, absolutely batshit insane internet of the 90’s and 2000s?
Man, I do. I used to spend my days visiting weird sites, watching unhinged animations (“LOOK AT MY HORSE, MY HORSE IS AMAZING”), finding out that the world wasn’t as boring as it felt in my stultifying suburban hometown.
It’s become a bit of a meme to make fun of this era when we thought that the internet would save democracy because it would give everyone access to all the information, it would democratize knowledge, it would allow people to network and organize globally, it would break down borders and usher forth a new era of enlightenment. That has obviously not happened. But it’s worth noting that the last major leap forward in communications, the printing press, did usher forth a new Age of Enlightenment, but also ushered forth centuries of partisan wars. So, you know. We’ve got things to look forward to in a couple centuries, if we can make it that far?
We’re at a moment right now where the rich have more or less captured the internet and have robbed it of its revolutionary potential, by, as their drowned corpse of a spokesman Steve Bannon likes to say, “flooding the zone with shit.” The people who own this media are trying to do away entirely with pesky “writers” and “artists” by paying them starvation wages and replacing them with AI. The algorithms the internet runs on are not geared towards human well-being or health, and instead are geared towards making tons of money for the worst people you’ve ever heard of.
I do still see a future where the internet could be used for good again. But the rich have the power and the money and we’ve become disorganized. Now is time for regrouping, examining what’s worked and what hasn’t, and planning something new.
This is my way of telling you: I have been struggling to find any value in writing on the internet these days. I am tired of the trolls, the bots, the AI, the propaganda, the Doomerism, the shallow arguments, the lack of space for nuance, the cynicism, the exploitation, the cruelty. I’ve been writing on the internet without a break since 2006. This is not the same internet as the one I started out on, and I’m not so sure if you showed me this internet in 2006, that I’d choose to be a part of it.
So I am going on a hiatus to work on some bigger projects that I’ve had on the backburner for a while. It’s time to try something new. I am not, however, abandoning Better Strangers. I still have really enjoyed this project, even as my ambivalence towards the platforms that I publish it on has drastically increased. I will be back — for better or worse, the internet is my home. But you know, sometimes you gotta leave home and try something new.
In the meantime, I will be releasing articles from behind the paywall on a weekly basis. Good news is that I’ve got a ton of old stuff to share with you: as I said, I’ve been literally doing this for decades. So you’ll still get cool stuff from me, but there’s a chance it’ll be stuff you’ve already read.
PAID SUBSCRIBERS: Your subscriptions have been placed on hold. You will not be charged until I restart the publication, and this hiatus will not count towards the money you’ve already paid. Your support means the world to me, and I really appreciate your patience with this. No hard feelings if anyone wants to unsubscribe!
Publications to follow while I’m on hiatus
If you came to this publication because you’re looking for hope for the future, then I’m not gonna leave you in a lurch: I’ve got three publications you should follow that, frankly, will do that job a lot better than I ever did.
When you get on Substack, you inevitably follow 500 people and then spend a long time winnowing it down to voices you actually really want to regularly hear from, and up at the top of that list for me has been
’s publication . His recent article “Welcome to the Resi…lience” was the single most practical thing I read in the ugly days right after Trump’s inauguration. Scott’s frankly more knowledgeable on practical approaches to dealing climate change and late capitalism than I am, so there’s a good chance you came to this publication looking for what he’s putting out there.The other truly great Substack I’ve found in the Better Strangers vein is
’s Again, she is way more knowledgeable than me on the topic I write about (she’s a marine biologist, which is what I wanted to be when I was a kid, and she has a long resume in the conservation fight), and her article on how to respond to Trump (“act local!”) was a much needed practical, not-panicky response to the devastation his administration has already wrought.When I started on Substack,
reached out asking to cross-post, but 20 years on the internet has made me grow leery of these sorts of requests, so I politely declined and decided to keep an eye on his publication, . Holy shit, was I wrong. Creative Destruction’s weekly “Rabbit Holes” round-ups are a treasure trove of new ideas and interesting reframings of old ideas. Thomas is a thoughtful writer and a prolific and omnivorous reader, highly recommend you give him a follow.
Not on Substack, but might I also suggest signing up for Aeon’s newsletter? I’ve found this publication to be exactly what I’ve needed in these dark months, as it takes a curious approach to both new and old ideas.
Hope you all are doing well! I’m still going to check Substack, so you can comment on articles, message me on Substack, or email me if you want. Good luck out there!
Thank you for the mention! :)
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