dreaming of a better internet

I am so, deeply, truly uninterested in reaction (which is why I don’t read the comments on my public Instagram account). But I am so curious about response: the mysterious sacred moments when we are compelled into action (often unwitnessed by others) or invited into new ways of thinking.

It’s the difference between seeing a painting through a... See more

The trouble with the internet, Mr. Williams says, is that it rewards extremes. Say you’re driving down the road and see a car crash. Of course you look. Everyone looks. The internet interprets behavior like this to mean everyone is asking for car crashes, so it tries to supply them.

There are lots of layoffs, lots of budget cuts, lots of scary articles about how little books are selling, or whatever. I’d argue, however, that we’re in a moment of recalibration. A lot of the digital world isn’t working, not just as it pertains to media. The Internet writ large isn’t as fun as it used to be. Yet there is, I think, an awareness of... See more