[…] So often online, we interact in ways that are intimate enough to feel significant, but so disconnected they’re essentially mysterious. Sometimes on Napster, you’d begin downloading a file only to see its owner sever the connection. For rarer files, I remember this being every bit as devastating as it must have been for Sam Anderson, watching these shades flit onto his screen and then, without a word, click away.
Is…is this your blog? I’m struggling to understand what made you think about a blog post from 13 years ago about Napster and Chatroulette. hahaha
Not that the post is totally irrelevant or anything - i’m sure we can all still relate to interacting with “ghosts” whenever we pore through 6 year old reddit threads for advice on solving very specific problems. I just don’t know how anyone stumbles upon stuff this old.
I don’t think alyaza is Matt lol, but I found it an interesting perspective to be reminded of.
Just how many of us are sitting here, doing the exact same thing with the same intents, but when the time comes for interaction so many shy away while simultaneously using the internet to reach out for connection. It’s funny, I’m guilty of it myself from time to time so it’s not that I don’t understand it but definitely something that can be forgotten when the internet is so pervasive.
And here lies why it was posted - a discussion! With nostalgia to boot, hah!