Intro

This chapter explores the transformation of digital media over the past twenty years, from basic internet navigation to today's personalized algorithms and social media. It highlights the rise of citizen journalism and the challenges of information overload in the context of the dot-com era.

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Episode notes

In this episode, I explore the history and evolution of digital media— from the dot come bubble, to blogging, to personality-driven media brands like Buzzfeed, and now to citizen journalism on platforms like TikTok and YouTube. I look at how the quest for information online went from active to passive, largely thanks to the introduction of algorithms and Big Tech's obsession with finding The Next Revolutionary Thing, and end by questioning the impact that AI will have on the industry.

Timestamps:

3:00 The rise of domain names & URLs

5:56 Dot com bubble & burst

8:38 The rise of search engines

10:00 History of blogging

14:13 How blogging & personality-driven content impacted digital media

15:14 The Buzzfeed revolution

18:00 The Try Guys

18:43 Ladylike

19:17 Tasty

19:52 Buzzfeed Unsolved

20:57 News aggregators & citizen journalism