July 6, 2001

When did the Internet get so boring?

I remember a time when I could literally spend hours online with never a dull moment. Now that I'm more or less forced to spend my idle time online, it's terribly boring. Salon used to be my favorite website, but ever since they imposed a $30/year fee for "premium content" the content has really gone downhill. I miss the old days about two years ago, when Camille Paglia had a weekly column and the commentary was diverse. Now, even the Nothing Personal column is only there maybe 3-4 times/week, Camille had a monthly column during the fall and spring, and only Garrison Keillor's advice column is still going strong.

I used to really enjoy Aint It Cool News, too, and to be fair, they still provide lots of nice information. But the past few days I've noticed popup ads from the main page, and I find those really annoying. The advertisers are holding websites to much higher "proven returns" than they ever would for cable TV shows, for much less money, too. I just hate to see sites that had proven reliable and high quality in the past lose their edge. Next thing you know, CNN.com will be the only place to get news online, because AOL-Time Warner will own the whole net.

Mailing lists and newsgroups are still going strong, thank goodness. The oldest areas of the Internet might be the ones that are available for people who don't want to pay for content in the future. There are more than ever, and although dodging spam keeps you on your toes, the quality is there if you spend the time to find it. I just can't manage to spend hours every day reading mail and catching up on newsgroups, there aren't that many that interest me. Next thing you know, I'll have to find ways to keep myself occupied at work by doing, you know, work. PFFT!

If there are any websites you enjoy and want to share to easy my painful boredom, please give some feedback in the Comments section!

Published: July 6, 2001
Editor: stacy