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Anyone else remember the days of intense,niche-specific internet forums? I'm talking pre-Facebook,when finding a community online meant digging through Yahoo! Groups or using a search engine just to find a phpBB forum still being moderated. It's wild how different that feels compared to today's algorithm-driven feeds.
Forums felt like specialized clubs. You had to actually find them, and then demonstrate some knowledge or interest before really being accepted.Now, social media is all about instant gratification and broad appeal. It’s easier to connect with more people superficially, but harder to find those deep, shared-interest communities.
I wonder if something was lost when we traded tightly knit forums for the sprawling landscapes of platforms like Twitter and instagram. The signal-to-noise ratio was definitely better, even if the UI looked like it was designed in the 90s. What do you all think? Is there something to be said for the "old internet" way of connecting based on dedicated interest, versus the current popularity-contest model?