Manifesto
In the middle of the summer in 2022, I had intended to write a script for what would eventually be considered my "Yesterweb Manifesto." This would be a multi-page-long script that would eventually be turned into a video essay consisting of nothing but my thoughts on why the current state of the internet is "bad" and why we should "return to web 1.0" and the like. That was eventually refined and reviewed countless times, eventually being turned into a slightly more coherent dialogue on how the current state of the internet has strayed from its original purpose and what things we need to remember about it in order to get it to where we as a community of websurfers would like it to be.
That, decidedly, was not my yesterweb manifesto. I had neglected to actually read over what such a thing should consist of, and as a result, I ended up completely missing the mark. That was me running my mouth (or rather my fingers) off on important yet fairly unrelated topics. The purpose of the post that follows, which I should mention will be written at 11:00PM on March 11 2023, is to take what I had published a month or two back and compress it into a comprehensive manifesto:
The internet as it is today is not what it was meant to be. Its true origins were in military technology, but as it was practically gifted to the general public it should have been obvious that the intent was to connect everyone and to make transfer of data quicker. It is the perfect medium for the exchange of knowledge and creativity. So far it has been successful in this endeavor, but it's been tainted. Algorithms focus their efforts on giving the end-user what they want to see, which often ends up being anything from half-truths to blatant lies, in order to raise site traffic and profits. The result is a battlefield of hurt and confusion where people rely on this information when the degree of its truth is dubious at best. This is a disaster.
I believe our current goal as people who want a better world should be to turn this trend around and create an era where the internet is more of a community and less of a battleground. I want to see a time when there aren't winners or losers across online communication, where humans aren't treated as capital. I want to see with my own eyes an era of the internet form where, barring select circumstances (ie. those presented under the paradox of intolerance), we treat people here as we would anywhere else: with patience, respect, and understanding. I want to see what other people have made and know what other people know without the constant reminder that every step I take is being recorded and used to lower my actual quality of life in order to fill some mega-corporation's pockets.
I want to strive for a new web that reflects the real world in that we are able to absorb thoughts and experiences from our surroundings, but with a higher amount of diversity and expedience.
I'll do whatever is necessary for this outcome, and I encourage everyone reading this to do the same. This means listening to others' viewpoints and assuming good intent, taking the side of the oppressed, presenting ideas in a truthful and non-confrontational manner, and letting imagination run wild so everyone who runs across what is created can take it and add it to their mental databases of ideas. Maybe there's more to it than that, and if there is I would be happy to incorporate it into my current approach given that it contributes to the goal of making the world a better place. We must do what must be done in order to use the internet for the improvement of society, otherwise we'll just end up back where we are: a multitude of factions rambling about what we think we know, failing to hear each other over the perceived truths being echoed back at us.
-AP