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The Web of the 1990s and early 2000s (then called the World-Wide-Web) was different (in quality) from the Web of today.
One interesting thing from that era was that — there were many individuals who (on their own) created whole web-sites about some (narrow) topic each of them obsessed over. Something that each of them raged to master and document — and then published to the world (via the World-Wide-Web).
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These niche web-sites about some narrow topic of the 1990s and early 2000s were one of the draws of the Internet back then.
(And, to put this into context, remember that the mass-Internet, where regular people used the Internet, didn't really start until about the years 1998 to 2001.)
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As I said, these niche web-sites about some narrow topic were one of the draws of the Internet on the 1990s and early 2000s.
Both reading what others wrote about niche topics you also cared about and perhaps also obsessed over.
But also, being able to create your own niche content on the (narrow) interests you obsessed over.
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I think people nowadays are unaware of just how big of a deal that latter part was — being able to write and publish content you created and reach an audience!
It was a huge deal!
As much as the Web was a technology, it was also a social-movement.
Part of the social-movement of the Web getting rid of Gate-Keeper.
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Prior to the Web, if you wanted to publish something you created and reach a mass audience or a community — most of the time you would have to go through the TV industry, the film industry, the radio industry, or the newspaper industry.
These were the Gate-Keepers of the time.
In practice, only those with wealth or power were able to get permission from these Gate-Keepers.
For most of the people in the world — this wasn't an option
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The Web wasn't the start of the social-movement to get rid of these (historical) Gate-Keepers.
(The social-movement goes back to at least BBS and other similar networks — i.e., what, for regular people, was before the Internet.)
But the Web did have a big impact on removing these Gate-Keepers. A BIG one!
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7/
I think some of the hopes for Small-Net & Small-Web from its fans, enthusiasts, and advocates is —
• the return of individuals creating and publishing niche narrowly focused sites,
• removing the modern Gate-Keepers.
These obviously aren't the only desires from those in the Small-Net & Small-Web scene and social-movement, but — I think these 2 are interesting because they are related to the origin of the World-Wide-Web.
@reiver I was there for it all, but reaching an audience was not a primary goal, just a nice outcome. It was more about being part of something bigger parallel to others. It was a fabric of individual homes and family run corner stores.
The pursuit of audience has resulted in more congregating in big corporate owned malls. We have some part in that it’s not just on the corps.
Get back to your neighborhoods, they are still out there.
I didn't mean "audience" in the para-social sense of the word.
I meant "audience" more in the sense of being part of a community.
@reiver ⊼ (Charles) 
Alan is @cogdog 🇨🇦