The Internet – Trash or Treasure

I was listening to podcast during my all too lengthy commute  today. The panel was talking about the newest fad on the web,chat roulette. This discussion led to the question, is there anything redeeming on the internet?  The information super highway has all but become a giant cesspool filled with pornography and stupidity.  Hmm… I wonder where these guys are hanging out when their surfing.

It got me thinking though.  While there is more than enough silliness and filth on the Web, there is also an amazing amount of great content and information.  I think in reality, the smut and schoolyard shenanigans have always existed it’s just that The Internet gave it a way to flourish just as it has all the great sites and content out there.

I think about my own Internet usage.  I read the news via RSS feeds from reputable new sources.  I entertain myself with YouTube, Hulu, and Netflix.  I pay my bills online, pay my taxes  online, and I communicate online.  The Internet has given us the ability to do amazing things to simplify, and sometimes complicate our lives.

The Web has done some damage to the entertainment industry.  Itunes has replaced record stores, streaming video is dipping in to cable TV and movie house profits.  Newspapers are in a death rattle and magazines are seeing sales decline.  The fact is, The Internet has changed the rules.  The distribution of content is not controlled by a few, but available for everyone.

There are some downsides to everyone having a voice on The Web.  Not everyone has a great voice.  Still, it let’s talented people who may otherwise be at the mercy of a publisher, record company, or movie studio blaze their own trail.   If you want to write, you start a blog. If you want to make an album, you put it up on Bandcamp or sign up with Tunecore.  If you want to make a TV show, you put it on YouTube or Vimeo.

Along with the change in distribution of content on the Internet also comes the change in distribution of income.  You probably won’t make millions as an independent artist but you can  make money.  Your money.  It was never guaranteed that you would make millions with a major record label or even in a commercial motion picture or TV show.


There is also a narrowing of the audience.  Instead of large companies trying to produce something that will appeal to the widest audience available, we can produce the content that we care about and reach the audience that is interested in the same.  I won’t be writing for Rolling Stone anytime soon but I sure as hell will keep writing for RGL.

I think The Internet has a lot to offer everyone, including those who wish to consume porn like popcorn and watch drunk people damaging what’s left of their brain on a home video. I think you get what you want from The Web and just leave the rest to linger in digital limbo.