Why 2006? Well first I'll explain why I didn't pick 2007.
1) 2007 was when "social media" really began taking off. Facebook opened up to the general public, twitter started blowing up in popularity and Tumblr was created this year. Yes, social media was around in 2006, like myspace and friendster (and facebook existed then but it was only for college students) 2007 was the year social media really blew up.
2) 2007 was also the year 4chan slowly started to decline in quality. 4chan started getting media coverage like the Fox News piece about it being an "internet hate machine" and 2007 was the year "project chanology" started. Both of these things brought in newfags that slowly changed the vibe. 4chan was still fun in 2007, but it wasn't the same as 2006.
3) The iphone came out in 2007. This planted the seeds for 24/7 connectivity and ultimately lead to the internet being designed around smartphones as opposed to desktop users.
4) Digg started blowing up in popularity in 2007 which created the updoot/downdoot "hivemind" culture that Reddit (it's spiritual successor) would weaponize.
5) The "2008 recession" technically started in late 2007. Several companies did hiring freezes that year, getting a job became more difficult, and the economic optimism of the mid 2000s evaporated.
I wouldn't pick 2008 because of the recession nor any year past that because the damage had already been done.
2006 was near the end of the "old internet" but it also had the benefit of having high speed internet and youtube. If you're under the age of 35, you probably don't appreciate how revolutionary youtube was. Prior to youtube, video content on the internet was scarce and scattered. You had to really look for them and download them. Then youtube came along and it was a site where you could upload videos about absolutely anything, for free, and you could watch them without having to download them. Back then there was no monetization for youtube. People made channels and just posted videos about stuff they liked and genuinely cared about. Monetization and the rise of "e-celebrity" culture ruined all that.
And that brings me to my next point. Back in 2006, people posted on the internet because they wanted to express themselves, wanted to discuss something they genuinely cared about, or wanted to connect with others. The rise of social media changed all that. Now most people just want to craft a reputation for themselves, farm engagement, virtue signal, or push an agenda of some sort.
2006 was about the last year where "the internet" and "real life" were two truly completely separate things. What happened on the internet didn't matter in real life whatsoever. But the late 2000s is when I started noticing the internet slowly creeping into real life, especially youth culture. 2007 is when I first started hearing internet lingo in real life. I'd hear people use internet memes and references like "epic win/fail" and "needs more cowbell" in real life from time to time. It didn't bother me at all back then, in fact I thought it was funny, but in hindsight I realize that the internet merging with real life ironically ended up ruining both the internet and real life.
Then there was forum culture. Back in 2006, small, independently hosted forums (like this one) were where most discussion took place. Every forum had it's own culture and you were expected to assimilate to that culture. Outsiders who came in and tried to change the culture (or just refused to assimilate) were considered the bad guys, but now it's reversed and "gatekeeping" is now a word that has an almost universal negative connotation.
People were a lot more open and sociable on the internet back in the day. These days everyone is very closed off and guarded. Gotta be careful about what you share out of fear of getting doxxed. Also everyone is paranoid about seeming "cringe" which led to the rise of "ironybros" and nonchalantfags. Not to mention "leaking DMs" is really popular these days, so everyone is very careful about what they share with others. Better not be too personal or vulnerable or share anything that might be controversial or embarrassing.
Not only that, but these days apparently sending someone you don't know a DM is considered "weird" and "creepy". If you DM someone these days you need to have a good reason to. But back on the old internet these barriers didn't exist. A lot of the online friends I made back in the day were from either me randomly messaging them, or them randomly messaging me because I posted my MSN/YiM/AIM on a forum or in a guestbook. Speaking of which, 2006 was around the last year where it was common for people to make their own website in simple HTML or on platforms like angelfire/maxpages/geocities. This gave you so much more freedom, especially in terms of customization, that just doesn't exist on the centralized web.
And it's not just the internet that was better, it was real life too. People were generally more friendly and extroverted. "Third places" were still common. 2006 was sort of the tail end of mall and arcade culture. Arcades had technically been dying for a long time, but there was still an active arcade scene if you were into fighting games or DDR/PIU. By the late 2000s, arcades were becoming ghost towns, and so were malls. Online shopping and online gaming made these things "obsolete", but the rise of these things and the deaths of the third places like malls and arcades are a large reason why people are so unsocial, terminally online, hyper-introverted, isolated, and atomized today.
Merging the internet and real life was like putting your beverage, main course and dessert into a blender. Two things that were great on their own were ruined when combined.
Tagging people who voted for this thread:
@TheSecondComing @proudweeb @sulpuda @VersoffenerAssi @Steiner_Atlas @TooSomething @Mr Black @currycell900 @Mr.Breb @Geno @DCI Gene Hunt @goyim next door @AtlasVmad @Dean_Benoit_93 @St3v3Cel
1) 2007 was when "social media" really began taking off. Facebook opened up to the general public, twitter started blowing up in popularity and Tumblr was created this year. Yes, social media was around in 2006, like myspace and friendster (and facebook existed then but it was only for college students) 2007 was the year social media really blew up.
2) 2007 was also the year 4chan slowly started to decline in quality. 4chan started getting media coverage like the Fox News piece about it being an "internet hate machine" and 2007 was the year "project chanology" started. Both of these things brought in newfags that slowly changed the vibe. 4chan was still fun in 2007, but it wasn't the same as 2006.
3) The iphone came out in 2007. This planted the seeds for 24/7 connectivity and ultimately lead to the internet being designed around smartphones as opposed to desktop users.
4) Digg started blowing up in popularity in 2007 which created the updoot/downdoot "hivemind" culture that Reddit (it's spiritual successor) would weaponize.
5) The "2008 recession" technically started in late 2007. Several companies did hiring freezes that year, getting a job became more difficult, and the economic optimism of the mid 2000s evaporated.
I wouldn't pick 2008 because of the recession nor any year past that because the damage had already been done.
2006 was near the end of the "old internet" but it also had the benefit of having high speed internet and youtube. If you're under the age of 35, you probably don't appreciate how revolutionary youtube was. Prior to youtube, video content on the internet was scarce and scattered. You had to really look for them and download them. Then youtube came along and it was a site where you could upload videos about absolutely anything, for free, and you could watch them without having to download them. Back then there was no monetization for youtube. People made channels and just posted videos about stuff they liked and genuinely cared about. Monetization and the rise of "e-celebrity" culture ruined all that.
And that brings me to my next point. Back in 2006, people posted on the internet because they wanted to express themselves, wanted to discuss something they genuinely cared about, or wanted to connect with others. The rise of social media changed all that. Now most people just want to craft a reputation for themselves, farm engagement, virtue signal, or push an agenda of some sort.
2006 was about the last year where "the internet" and "real life" were two truly completely separate things. What happened on the internet didn't matter in real life whatsoever. But the late 2000s is when I started noticing the internet slowly creeping into real life, especially youth culture. 2007 is when I first started hearing internet lingo in real life. I'd hear people use internet memes and references like "epic win/fail" and "needs more cowbell" in real life from time to time. It didn't bother me at all back then, in fact I thought it was funny, but in hindsight I realize that the internet merging with real life ironically ended up ruining both the internet and real life.
Then there was forum culture. Back in 2006, small, independently hosted forums (like this one) were where most discussion took place. Every forum had it's own culture and you were expected to assimilate to that culture. Outsiders who came in and tried to change the culture (or just refused to assimilate) were considered the bad guys, but now it's reversed and "gatekeeping" is now a word that has an almost universal negative connotation.
People were a lot more open and sociable on the internet back in the day. These days everyone is very closed off and guarded. Gotta be careful about what you share out of fear of getting doxxed. Also everyone is paranoid about seeming "cringe" which led to the rise of "ironybros" and nonchalantfags. Not to mention "leaking DMs" is really popular these days, so everyone is very careful about what they share with others. Better not be too personal or vulnerable or share anything that might be controversial or embarrassing.
Not only that, but these days apparently sending someone you don't know a DM is considered "weird" and "creepy". If you DM someone these days you need to have a good reason to. But back on the old internet these barriers didn't exist. A lot of the online friends I made back in the day were from either me randomly messaging them, or them randomly messaging me because I posted my MSN/YiM/AIM on a forum or in a guestbook. Speaking of which, 2006 was around the last year where it was common for people to make their own website in simple HTML or on platforms like angelfire/maxpages/geocities. This gave you so much more freedom, especially in terms of customization, that just doesn't exist on the centralized web.
And it's not just the internet that was better, it was real life too. People were generally more friendly and extroverted. "Third places" were still common. 2006 was sort of the tail end of mall and arcade culture. Arcades had technically been dying for a long time, but there was still an active arcade scene if you were into fighting games or DDR/PIU. By the late 2000s, arcades were becoming ghost towns, and so were malls. Online shopping and online gaming made these things "obsolete", but the rise of these things and the deaths of the third places like malls and arcades are a large reason why people are so unsocial, terminally online, hyper-introverted, isolated, and atomized today.
Merging the internet and real life was like putting your beverage, main course and dessert into a blender. Two things that were great on their own were ruined when combined.
Tagging people who voted for this thread:
@TheSecondComing @proudweeb @sulpuda @VersoffenerAssi @Steiner_Atlas @TooSomething @Mr Black @currycell900 @Mr.Breb @Geno @DCI Gene Hunt @goyim next door @AtlasVmad @Dean_Benoit_93 @St3v3Cel
