The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet
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The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet
This is also what the internet is becoming: a dark forest.
In response to the ads, the tracking, the trolling, the hype, and other predatory behaviors, we’re retreating to our dark forests of the internet, and away from the mainstream.
This very email is an example of this. This theory is being shared on a private channel sent to 500 people who I kno... See more
In response to the ads, the tracking, the trolling, the hype, and other predatory behaviors, we’re retreating to our dark forests of the internet, and away from the mainstream.
This very email is an example of this. This theory is being shared on a private channel sent to 500 people who I kno... See more
Yancey Strickler • The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet
In the early days of the internet, the Web’s surface was relatively smooth and its “gravitational force” was weak. You could random walk without getting sucked into any black holes. During the 2010s, social media platforms “dug into the Web surface, dragging activities down their slopes … As a result of this magnetic-like attraction, caused by the
... See moreThe Garden of Forking Memes: How Digital Media Distorts Our Sense of Time – AZL
Dark forests like newsletters and podcasts are growing areas of activity. As are other dark forests, like Slack channels, private Instagrams, invite-only message boards, text groups, Snapchat, WeChat, and on and on. This is where Facebook is pivoting with Groups (and trying to redefine what the word “privacy” means in the process).
Yancey Strickler • The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet
What if you and your friends had your own little internet, the size of a room? No outside influence, no outside information, no viral trends, no content-suggesting algorithms; just the machines and the people within the physical space. What would you do on your little internet?