The internet is already over (2022)

Re:The internet is already over (2022) by peterleiser on Sunday July 07, 2024 @04:26PM (#40900205)

And nobody makes Monty Python or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy references anymore. I had a boss 15 years ago who had watched all things Star Trek, just like me; Knew all the things. But at one point he mentioned he wasn't really a fan, it was just "required reading, part of the literature". This is an interesting one. There used to be certain things that all nerds knew, and could talk about, use as analogies and metaphors. Something to talk about just like sales people (stereotypically, used to) talk about sports. I realized early in my career that's why some people in business follow sports, so they didn't get cut out of conversations. I always had nothing to say when that topic came up. But it's tricky because geeks and nerds shouldn't be gatekeepers about what the entertainment is, or the literature, because that cuts out a lot of people who should feel included. But at the same time most people think it's generally nice to have some common things to reference, talk about, and normalize on. I think social media, politics, streaming services, etc. have totally blown away these shared frameworks in society, and it's kind of a bummer, even though it's great to have lots of choices. People used to watch the same TV shows and talk about it the next day. I guess sports is basically the last thing that's shared. Thanks for attending my Ted Talk...

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Re:The internet is already over (2022) by GuB-42 on Sunday July 07, 2024 @05:19PM (#40900518)

Monty Python, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Star Trek are becoming old. These are references from the 70s. I'd say anime took over as the stereotypical geek culture thing. Japanese otaku and western geeks got along. Also fantasy became popular over science fiction, the video game landscape has changed dramatically, and of course, younger geeks grew up with the internet more than with TV. Also, there are series like Stranger Things that are definitely geeky.

Things are moving on, we are just getting old.

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Re:The internet is already over (2022) by ssl-3 on Sunday July 07, 2024 @05:10PM (#40900458)

Back in the day of The Internet of 1994, HHGTTG was only 15 years old.

But today, HHGTTG is very nearly 45 years old.

For how many decades should references to novel fiction persist, do you suppose?

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Re:The internet is already over (2022) by peterleiser on Sunday July 07, 2024 @06:32PM (#40901043)

42 years, and then never mention it again.

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Re:The internet is already over (2022) by saulpw on Sunday July 07, 2024 @05:41PM (#40900666)

It's hard to believe that a 15-year-old book was a defining cultural touchstone. What do we have from 2009 that has the reach of HHGTTG in 1994? Twilight? Hunger Games?

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Re:The internet is already over (2022) by ssl-3 on Sunday July 07, 2024 @07:26PM (#40901322)

We didn't read books in 2009 like we did in 1979.

In 2009, we already had pocket supercomputers.

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Re:The internet is already over (2022) by KineticLensman on Sunday July 07, 2024 @05:25PM (#40900557)

The TV version was broadcast just over 42 (!) years ago

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Re:The internet is already over (2022) by account42 on Monday July 08, 2024 @11:39AM (#40906362)

I think you are missing the point. It's not that interest in these things is what is essential to the old internet but that a shared interest and shared language is - and this includes as gp has pointed out metaphors and imagery.

But to your question, Tolkien, Asimov, Lovecraft, et al. are still a heavy influence on modern Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Horror. Why do you think a mere 45 years should mean that something is no longer referenced?

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Re:The internet is already over (2022) by anal_reactor on Sunday July 07, 2024 @07:33PM (#40901367)

> because that cuts out a lot of people who should feel included

Why.

> People used to watch the same TV shows and talk about it the next day

That's the societal cost of having personalized experience. Nobody watches the content I watch because I pick content that's specifically relevant to just me. Even my closest friends watch different things.

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Re:The internet is already over (2022) by shiroiushi on Monday July 08, 2024 @01:19AM (#40902797)

>geeks and nerds shouldn't be gatekeepers about what the entertainment is, or the literature, because that cuts out a lot of people who should feel included.

But the sports fans never felt this way, and were always happy to cut out the geeks and nerds that didn't give two shits about the sportsball game they watched that weekend. Why should the geeks and nerds need to worry about including the sports fans, but not the other way around?

>I think social media, politics, streaming services, etc. have totally blown away these shared frameworks in society, and it's kind of a bummer, even though it's great to have lots of choices. People used to watch the same TV shows and talk about it the next day.

When Game of Thrones was the new hot TV show, it seemed like everyone and his dog was watching it, and that included the sports fans and the nerds too.

>I guess sports is basically the last thing that's shared.

Back to my first point. I don't know any sports fans in my circle of friends and work colleagues (who are all techies of course). If any are, they keep it to themselves, thankfully.

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Re:The internet is already over (2022) by account42 on Monday July 08, 2024 @11:33AM (#40906304)

> There used to be certain things that all nerds knew, and could talk about, use as analogies and metaphors.

Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra

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Re:The internet is already over (2022) by kragen on Thursday July 11, 2024 @12:46PM (#40938425)

the analects of confucius, or, in europe, plato, cicero, and the bible

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