There’s too much noise on the internet
December 28th, 2008 — BoomerIt seems like I’m noticing more and more sources of low intellectuality, which is pretty much a waste of time and gives me very little entertainment or usefulness of any sort. Let’s take digg for example. The very first item is:
Calvin and Hobbes on the Financial Crisis
Nothing wrong with it, except I saw it earlier in the day before I managed to read this (This came out 5 minutes ago). This is a relatively new story, so there aren’t many comments at the time of the writing. Nothing inherently wrong, but this is only the first news article. However, there isn’t anything interesting for another 8 news articles, until you get to:
Top 10 Things to make Good Games Better!
Also, there’s no point in reading the comments because the whole commenting system is infested with people with bad grammar and spelling who can not articulate an idea further than a sentence. In fact, I counted about 5 comments that actually try to articulate and express an idea properly. I’m not expecting an essay, but reading the comments is kind of like crack. It’s very quick, and gives you very little entertainment. I admit, there are some good comments. There are fleeting moments of discussion. However, nothing ever really gets discussed more than 4 comments deep. It’s always very superficial and of no real benefit other than a way of killing time. I gained nothing through reading the comments, and I pretty much just block everyone who can’t even use proper English, because I don’t want to deal with it. Just because this is the internet doesn’t mean that you can forgo everything you learned about English. Sure, everyone makes mistakes and we sometimes mistype, but I’m talking about deliberately missing punctuation and not caring at all about spelling. If you want to type like a child, I’m not willing to read it.
You might see this as elitist, that I’m expecting too much from everybody. This is not true. I’m expecting enough, and people supply too little. Digg is no longer part of my life, I will not use it every again. You’re welcome to submit my stories, but I won’t know until I check where the massive influx of traffic came from in my logs. Now, compare Digg to a website like Slashdot. There is no comparison, Slashdot blows Digg right out of the water. The reason is simple. Digg is too popular. What this means is that it is now flooded with the “average” person. There is no niche, you have everything from sports to entertainment to science. It’s a website for everybody, a place where someone can say whatever they want to say, whether it’s right or wrong. Slashdot, on the other hand, targets a demographic that is smart. More specifically, nerds. The first article is about touchscreen netbooks in CES 2009. Touchscreens are cool, that’s something interesting. But more importantly, what about the discussion in slashdot going on about it? The first comment is from a troll, but it is likewise voted by the members as a troll and hidden from view unless specified to be seen. Digg’s system is very easily abused people people who disagree with you. I’ve seen many comments that are worthwhile and raise a valid point that have been voted down on digg. Not a problem on Slashdot.
More importantly, however, is the fact that the discussion is meaningful to the topic at hand. It is both useful and entertaining, and allows me to understand the subject at hand better. It’s not just a matter of something having to be useful. It can be entertaining as well. The next article is about Microsoft billing 1$ an hour for leasing Microsoft Office. The very first comment is a joke. A proper joke, written properly so that I don’t have to reread it just to understand it. Nothing kills a joke worse than having to first interpret what the person is trying to say. Here on Slashdot, I don’t have to deal with the same amount of trash that exists on digg.
Yes, people say useful things on Digg. But why search through a pile of trash when I have slashdot? This is an important point, because in every pile of trash you might find something useful. If you go to digg, you’re spending your time looking through trash. On slashdot, there is no trash. You’re looking at a fridge stocked to the brim full of food. You’re not wading your way through junk to find a half rotten but edible banana. There is no comparison. Digg is the equivilant of channel flipping on TV, trying to find a show that interests you in someway. This is the internet, you shouldn’t have to subject yourself to this. You can schedule your life around the TV, finding shows that you like and think are interesting on different channels. On the internet, it’s even better. Find some blogs that are relevant to your interests. Find a news aggregation website that is relevant to your interests. I use Slashdot as an example, because it’s a website that posts articles that I find interesting, as well as having a smart and intelligent community. Find your own hub. Choose a niche that is relevant to you, and minimize time spent on trash.
Update: I wrote this with one goal in mind and ended up with a different final product. I ussualy try not to let hate get the better of me, but this is what I ended up with.
