Back in 1994, when I first ventured onto the Web, I was already a decade deep into the online world and had a front-row seat to its swift evolution. At its dawn, the World Wide Web was a rudimentary place, with only a handful of sites that were primarily text and static images. Pages crawled to load, often taking a minute or two to fully appear. Yet, the horizon was already shimmering with the promise of MP3 files and streaming video, soon to be made possible by the advent of broadband.
Before Google emerged, the internet was navigated through directories of websites, such as Yahoo, rather than search engines. Despite this limitation, it was still captivating. Even in its early stages, the web gave us the power to connect with like-minded individuals across the globe.
Thirty years have transformed the Internet, the world around us, and myself. For better or worse, I find myself immersed in the digital realm for countless hours daily, much of it tethered to my work. Being a person of insatiable curiosity, there's always something new to explore. In fact, it's more than just something; it's an endless stream. This abundance has led to what some might call content overload, a reflection of the boundless information now at our fingertips. We are living at a time when there are unlimited choices, which is both good and bad.
In 1994, I Predicted the Internet Is Good for Jazz
As someone who has always had a deep passion for jazz, the abundance of video and audio content available is truly a gift. No matter where I am in the world, at any hour, through any of my four devices, I have the privilege to enjoy Art Tatum and Ben Webster's rendition of "All The Things You Are," witness John Coltrane's performance of "A Love Supreme" in France, or let Emmet Cohen and Patrick Bartley reaffirm the omnipresence of jazz on the internet, celebrating its status as a globally cherished genre of music.
But inevitably, the question arises: What's up next? With YouTube and other streaming platforms bombarding me with music and video, the choices seem boundless. The sheer volume of options is staggering; even though jazz makes up just a fraction of YouTube's vast library (which boasts around nine hundred million videos), this still amounts to an extensive audience of viewers and listeners.
In fact, the web is teeming with enough jazz to saturate numerous lifetimes. Roughly one third of all jazz recordings ever made have found a digital home on YouTube in one form or another, offering a repository of recorded music and performance videos that far surpasses the likes of Spotify.
Of course, YouTube's content goes well beyond jazz and includes video from every topic known to man, woman and beast. And let’s not forget social media, e-commerce and news sites all adding to the vast and rapidly expanding universe of content, largely fueled by advertising.
Note: I have a strong aversion to ads and can happily report that YouTube Premium provides a haven from ads for $15 a month.
While numerous streaming services provide films and exclusive content that catch my eye, the prospect of shelling out $200 monthly to view merely five or six titles isn't attractive. Fortunately, YouTube is a goldmine of classic cinema, subtitled international films, and a vast collection of raw, underappreciated American movies. It also boasts an impressive catalogue of over two hundred film noir titles, which captivate me, possibly due to their stark divergence from modern culture.
Over the last thirty years, I've also amassed a collection of movies and TV shows on several external hard drives, along with another set just for the extensive music library I've built. It’s a vast digital ocean of classics, niche finds, and auditory treasures.
So, when I am at my desktop, or near my 52” 4k television, I have to make a viewing choice. Quickly. I don’t want to waste my time scrolling down lists and previews. After I get a taste of jazz, I try to avoid, but somehow frequently end up, at news sites. I try to avoid anything about the current US nightmare but invariably, something sparks my attention and suddenly, I’m slowing down on the highway, driving by an accident that I have to watch.
There are a number of news channels on YouTube. These channels don’t pretend to be neutral. Most are an extension of the Fox News channel, which I won’t watch. The largest independent news channel on YouTube today is The MeidasTouch Network (MTN). It operates as a pro-democracy news network and has rapidly become one of the most viewed and visited news networks globally with over two million subscribers, including me. Their numbers are ascending.
Meidas Touch intriguingly attracts a younger audience compared to those who rely on legacy media for their information. Today's youth are not turning to the New York Times or tuning into CNN for news. Instead, they gather all the information they need from social media platforms.
Legacy news refers to traditional media organizations and outlets that have been established for a long time, often preceding the digital age. These include newspapers, television news broadcasts, and radio news. Legacy news outlets have a long history of journalistic practices and have been the primary sources of news and information for decades. They are known for their established journalistic standards, editorial processes, and often, a significant presence in the physical media landscape (e.g., print newspapers and magazines).
Rather than the usual lineup of recognizable faces and traditional formats, complemented by a worldwide network of correspondents, Meidas Touch Network operates as a guerrilla news outlet. Instead of polished, meticulously styled anchors and renowned media figures enhancing their hefty salaries with product endorsements and book deals, MTN presents a diverse group of articulate individuals from various backgrounds, broadcasting directly from their homes, supported by legal specialists.
Notable projects by MeidasTouch included impactful videos during the 2020 U.S. presidential election:
“Are You Better Off?”: A video criticizing Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Bye Ivanka”: Focused on Ivanka Trump’s relation with China and her father’s coronavirus crisis management.
“GOP Cowards”: Accused Republican senators of being cowards and urged followers to vote them out.
“Trump Kills US”: Highlighted Trump’s comment urging doctors to “slow the testing down”
The MTN, which posts nine or ten new videos each day, offers content not accessible on CNN or MSNBC. Ben Meiselas, an attorney and law professor at USC is the most prominent voice on the network, reports that the network’s commitment to democracy and accountability remains at the core of the MeidasTouch Network’s mission.
Meiselas told the Holywood Reporter that he wants “to be able to build a media network that could rival Fox News one day for Democrats and could really be a counter-voice, a voice for democracy. Our values that I think are universal, such as healthcare, making sure people have a living wage, making college affordable and accessible for all, and believing in science.”
More content.
Are there remedies for individuals ensnared by the internet, overwhelmed by a deluge of content to the extent that it renders them incapable of meaningful interaction? Have I transformed into such a figure? A sofa surfer gripping a remote, aimlessly hopping between brief clips, only to discover that five hours have evaporated. Thankfully, this scenario does not reflect my personal experience.
The global populace ensnared by the overwhelming flood of internet content is expanding at an exponential rate daily. These content aficionados are less focused on the substance of what they're viewing and more on the perpetual hunt for and acquisition of novel content.
On every YouTube screen, the option for the next video is just a click away. On the display, the current video plays while other options lurk within the frame, reminiscent of a Los Angeles party where attendees constantly scan the crowd for individuals who can catapult their careers to new heights.
YouTube statistics highlight a notable trend: half of the viewers leave after the first minute. This phenomenon can be linked to diminishing attention spans and the quest to fill a spiritual emptiness in their lives.
As someone who produces content, I'm intimately familiar with the flip side of this reality. Competing for viewers in a sea of endless options means I have to shout from the rooftops, urging people to give my videos a chance. There's potential enjoyment and even learning to be had. However, it appears that the inclination to learn is frequently eclipsed by a tendency to stay passive, entranced by striking visuals and titillation, in pursuit of the simplest form of redemption, we’re always just a moment's distraction from the next alternative.
A Shocking Admission
Our cats are content consumers. When Sherrie and I leave the house, we put on a cat video. Creators started posting cat videos a few years ago and now there are nearly a thousand videos for cats on YouTube. Mango and Melón like to watch cats chasing mice and birds. For them, it’s an interactive experience, they react with a variety of vocal effects.
Oscar Wilde remarked that we often transform into what we despise. Is that the transformation I'm experiencing? Acknowledging one's flaws requires significant courage but I don’t shy away from the truth. My generation was the first to be introduced to television almost from birth; we arrived home from the hospital to find a screen glowing in the living room. We have been watching content all of our lives. Three quarters of a century later, content is omnipresent, accessible at any moment, from anywhere.
In a world so vast and wide,
Where data streams like an endless tide,
There lived a soul, quite bemused,
By content so vast, they felt confused.
With every click, a new page unfurled,
A digital labyrinth, a virtual world.
Memes and tweets, videos galore,
"Inbox (999+)," a never-ending chore.
They sought to read, to watch, to know,
But the more they consumed, the less it felt so.
For every fact learned, ten more appeared,
A Sisyphean task, as weird as feared.
"I'll catch up," they claimed, with a hopeful heart,
But the internet laughed, "That's just the start."
With each passing moment, the content grew,
An endless buffet, yet nothing felt new.
So here's a toast, to our shared plight,
Drowning in data, day and night.
May we find peace, in this digital sea,
And remember, sometimes it's okay to just be.
Perception is reality.
A beautiful and intriguing poem
Thank you!