From writer Joan Westenberg comes a digital zine reflecting on how the internet has evolved over the past 20 years. Packed with nostalgia for the early days of niche communities, amateur content and anonymity, it explores the current state of corporatization, algorithms and pressure to constantly produce.
This zine is for anyone feeling disillusioned by the internet’s lost potential and hoping to rediscover that early excitement of possibility. It asks the question - can we build a digital future that reflects the diversity, creativity and joy we glimpsed online in the past?
Nothing helps me rediscover the early internet’s excitement of possibilty more than a three-step process asking me to provide my email handle and full address to access a free PDF. Apparently a simple download link, you know the ones we had in 1998, isn’t enough. How am I supposed to take this seriously?