I was around when during the time of Geocities, Angelfire, AOL messenger, and Neopets.
Really messed up images and video content was just a click away and easy to find.
Social media didn't exist.
The web was absolutely unhinged and I probably shouldn't have been exploring it at my age.
What we have now is a polished, highly curated outer shell wrapped around a seedy, disgusting core that you don't just stumble into.
The way we interact with each other has evolved massively along the way.
While "chat rooms" still exist (as Discord and others), social media, with a focus on media, has taken over as the defacto interaction layer of the web.
Conversations went from private to public. Because everyone has an opinion and everyone wants to be heard.
I don't foresee that changing any time very soon. At least not before the moment at which I literally stop giving a rat's ass about the internet at all because I'm too old.
I'm already creeping up on that point in time, I can feel it...
And the only way to create as a lifestyle is to be compensated for creating.
And the only way to be compensated for creating is to put your creations in front of people.
And the best way to get in front of people is to purposefully build an audience.
So that's what I'm doing in 2024.
Social media is obnoxious, but it's free (minus the time spent).
It's also ubiquitous. Whatever kind of person you want to connect with, they exist on social media somewhere.
Low hanging fruit.
This is the top of the funnel.
Create a system to introduce new people to Gaege almost on autopilot.
This is my sounding board for quick, actionable input on my creative process and projects.
The incredible value of regular feedback from hundreds of people cannot be overstated.
And the opportunities for collaboration, inspiration, and, let's be honest here, monetization increase exponentially as that audience grows.
However, "Platform Risk" is a very real thing. Plenty of people have effectively lost their audience overnight due to bans, hacks, etc.
Then what's next?
At the end of the day, email still reigns supreme. It was there at the genesis of the internet; indeed, it was the genesis of the internet.
While some entities (ahem, Google) attempt to control the flow of information via email as they do with everything else, the reality is that with so few "moving parts" it's difficult for them to exert control without risking possibly catastrophic backlash.
It's easy for them to "blame the algorithm" when your posts aren't being seen by all your followers.
It's how we were trained.
But not so with email. We expect to actually see all our email. If too many emails are "curated" by Google and others, there will be trouble.
As such, I intend to steadily build an email list of people that have a genuine interest in the value I (try to) create for the world.
My tribe, if you will.
So, it's not glamorous or revolutionary really. It's more of an "old faithful" kind of approach. It's worked for 20 years, it should work for another 20 (or at least 5, come on).
The internet surely will continue to evolve but the foundational element of connecting genuinely with others will never change.
That being said, I'd love it if you'd connect with me on Threads.
Until next time 👋