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What Happened to the New Internet?
By yielding a generational wealth creation opportunity that was a strange hybrid of a lottery jackpot and self-made fortune, crypto created an ideological hold on its early entrepreneurs and workers. It had all the euphoria of a gold rush and all the self esteem of high tech meritocracy.
Bryan Lehrer • What Happened to the New Internet?
There’s a strong argument to be made that the most compelling solutions in the short history of the New Internet have been those that are the most commonplace, slow, ambient, and avoidant of hype. Products that actually work and will continue to.
Bryan Lehrer • What Happened to the New Internet?
In crypto, an entire generation of alienated tech workers saw potential to have their cake (create a better, decentralized internet) and eat it too (get very wealthy).
Bryan Lehrer • What Happened to the New Internet?
The tech industry currently stands at a crossroads. At the twilight of social media, adtech, and crypto bull markets (bubbles?), tech workers and consumers are simultaneously exhausted by tech and starving for more. Shiny trends like Artificial Intelligence and Mixed Reality stand on the sidelines ready to transform latent frustrations into newfang... See more
Bryan Lehrer • What Happened to the New Internet?
Despite its gravitational pull, the story behind decentralization and the rise of crypto was just one island in the new internet archipelago.
Bryan Lehrer • What Happened to the New Internet?
Among other things, this meant leaning into a career and leaning into a career meant less time for the group chat.
Bryan Lehrer • What Happened to the New Internet?
Young romantics working at the "intersection of art and technology" launched endless criticisms of big tech's overreach and in the process created the foundations for an entire scene of left-field internet aesthetics.
Bryan Lehrer • What Happened to the New Internet?
. I did marketing there, which basically amounted to drafting tweets that promoted a hypothetical product in unflinchingly positive terms. I remember on several occasions being reprimanded for not using enough emojis in my tweets.
Bryan Lehrer • What Happened to the New Internet?
The New Internet that's in question here probably began to coalesce in the early 2010s. At first, it emerged slowly, stewing in the public discontent that grew out of an increasingly powerful and extractive tech sector. Just as much as it was a professional stance, the reaction was a visceral one. Many users of the internet were beginning to notice
... See moreBryan Lehrer • What Happened to the New Internet?
On another level, the story of the New Internet is a story of individuals and their psychologies. Over the last decade, technology workers have opened themselves up to a tremendous amount of value drift (the process in which previously steadfast values are compromised over time).