I think I’ve figured out how to make the Internet fun again
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been trying to structure our YouTube channel in a way that helps us grow. Our long form podcast episodes tend to not do well. Which is to be expected. It has kind of become a running joke to even have a podcast these days. One guy on our TikTok profile even commented, “Podcast equipment should be more expensive”. Basically, advocating for a high cost of entry to keep some folks off the mic. It was genuinely a hilarious comment, but I digress. The videos showcasing retro tech seem to do well and shorts do even better. Though the idea wasn’t to become a shorts channel. YouTube really seems to want to be TikTok and pushes shorts heavily nowadays. We’ve even gone as far as splitting the Past Present Game YouTube channel into smaller channels. Past Present Show had its own channel for a while as well as Past Present Film. I intended to make a separate channel for the retro tech videos as well, but luckily something else happened first.
While looking for something to watch, I came across a video by Sarah Davis Baker. The video is called, “The Internet Used to Be a Place”. It’s a great watch and very well done. I clicked on the video, not looking for ideas, but because I’m a sucker for video essays and I love watching videos about the old internet for that warm fuzzy shot of nostalgia. While I did get my nostalgia fix, I ended up coming away with something more. In her video, Sarah talks about the family computer and having to dial up to log on. How the internet was not always with us. It was the place we visited when we got home from school or if you’re like me, staying up late at night on the weekends looking for free software and shareware games that were often made in the old Build Engine, i.e. Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior, etc.
“The Internet lived in a room and that room had a door. It took a long time to notice when the door went missing” -Sarah Davis Baker
Sarah goes into the old style of web design and how weird and bold the internet used to be, referencing a site called, “Cameron’s World”. Made by Cameron Askin, Cameron’s World is a website collage of archived GeoCities pages. Be sure to pay the site a visit. It is spectacular. For those of you who don’t know, GeoCities was a free website builder that enabled us to carve out our own little corner of the internet. It was like walking around a neighborhood and each home was wildly different. Anyone could make a GeoCities webpage complete with mismatch colors, flashy GIF images, a visitor counter, and a Guestbook. You can visit old GeoCities pages on Archive.Org’s Wayback Machine. Over the years the internet has gone from the creative odd spaces of GeoCities to cold, sterile designs. Even major brand websites had flashy designs with bold colors and sometimes goofy sounds upon button clicks. I understand that times change, and things evolve. But I can’t help but want some of that creativity and wonder back.
Sarah’s video ended up helping us decide what to do with our channel. We’re going to make it our own weird little corner of the internet. Screw the algorithm. Yes, we want the channel to grow and do well, and we hope it does. But creativity takes precedence. If you’ve been here for a while or have watched some of the content, you know we’re a handful creators. Cassie aka Mystic Faeble, our talented resident writer, Aaron Stranger, Dylan Speaks, and of course me, Ashton. We will continue making videos about retro tech as well as movies, tv, games, and whatever else. This means those videos will all be on one channel. One day we may upload a video of me restoring an old laptop. Next day there could be another gameplay video or something about a tv series. Past Present Games will be our corner of the internet where we will create freely and have fun. If they get lots of views, great. We love it when folks enjoy our videos and engage with them. We make it a point to respond and or like each comment. The idea is to build community and be creative. But, if they don’t and they tank, oh well. At least we get to be creative and that alone is worth it.
A lot of us are yearning for the old feel of the internet. Sure, the cold boring design is likely here to stay or the most part. But we can still make quirky, unique websites, blogs, and YouTube channels on our own. That’s not to say, everyone should actively make their YouTube channels tank by mixing content. But, allow yourself to be creative and not worry about what others think. Let’s reclaim some of the internet by bringing our personalities back to it. That’s what made it fun. I hope you join us on this journey of being weird, silly, and creative and I hope you’re able to carve out your own weird, silly, and corner as well. Thanks for being here.
Sarah Davis Baker’s YouTube Channel
