So, that COVID thing hit right when I was in the middle of figuring out what was going on with the Internet mobs. Then, one by one, everyone’s brains melted. I’d spent the last few years watching the Internet go awry in the post-Trump Internet, and had answers, and was finally ready to start writing, but still had some gaps.
And it all, well, kinda imploded. It became impossible to anchor anything to time, because time had become abstract. I have been commentating on the fly, complete with bad takes, trying to analyse a lot of what is happening. It’s been quite the feat. I mean, I understand politics. I understand the Internet. I understand advertising and marketing. But something was missing.
The nudges. The dark patterns. The bad guys. The unethical marketing practices.
So I took the time to go back to theory. Back to history. Immerse myself in the US culture wars that permeate our daily existence in big and small ways. The internet has become real life and the Police no longer tell you to just turn off your computer, but show up your door on behalf of the abuser.
I started studying Psychology (but may end up going back to Comms). I am assembling a parachute whilst already out of the plane and scrambling like mad to create content (I hate that word) that actually helps to explain things, and where I can also make a living doing good. That old tension between doing what’s right, and there being no money in it.
But it’s fun, so I won’t quit. And I’ll just keep blogging. Just keep talking. Just keep evolving for as long as there’s no adults that tell me it’s a bad idea. What’s the worst that could happen… I embarrass myself?
Oh well.