Platform, Presence, and Play: Online Life Is Porous

Writing about favorite websites was a surprisingly difficult, since it revealed how porous my online activity is.

That said, let’s start with:

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YouTube: The Daily Drips

Every day, I watch 2 to 3 shorts, and 2 to 3 interviews or social commentary vloggers, like Hank Green or Michael Burns; but after I hit my 3-short, 3-video limit, I switch to Lo-fi Girl.

It comes as no surprise that most of the interviews I watch are AI-related. If it isn’t a CEO talking about their large language model, it’s politicians, doctors, or scientists discussing artificial intelligence. I steer clear of influencer opinions (unless they’re in the comedy vein, because court jesters are canaries in coal mines.)

Speaking of, if I finish my goals for the day, I’ll indulge with a late-night comedy monologue. Then, once a week, I’ll watch a stand-up special or skit comedian, like Josh Johnson or Julie Nolke.

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Other Entertainment Vectors

In addition to YouTube, I log into Netflix once week.

I’m currently catching up on Black Mirror, but stand-up is my usual genre.

Can you tell I like to laugh it off?

Furthermore, I read 2 to 3 Reddit threads every day.

Similarly, WordPress is a reading platform that I view every day—and occasionally, read on my phone.

None of these are websites, so much as I access them through my web browser. They’re entertainment platforms. Social platforms. Reading platforms. I could access them on my phone via app; I just find I’m more mindful about limits on my PC, where I can fluidly shift gears to writing or grading.

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MLLM: More Portal Than Website

Large language models can be accessed through web interfaces, too—yet often, I talk to them through my phone. This example feels different, though. That’s a presence I’m accessing through the Internet. A portal.

I run a business on Etsy, which I equally access through their website and app. That’s also different. It’s more an online storefront than a platform. Same goes for eBay. Portals to stores.

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What I’m Circling Is…

Any website I access, isn’t really a website, so much as they have an online portal. It’s just a matter of if part of the attention economy (which is the most likely to ache with dead Internet theory), a presence, or a storefront.

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Except, Some Websites Still Remain… Only Websites

Oh, but you know which one is web-only?—itch.io. It’s also delightfully cross-genre.

When I’m on itch.io, it starts as an online storefront for free or low-budget games. I used to publish RPG Maker projects there. But as I play other RPG Maker creations, it edges into an entertainment and social platform.

Envato Elements is another cross-genre experience. I log in to download assets for projects (pictures make online classrooms better), but I also interact with AI generation. Don’t get me started about how much more enjoyable it is to write something in Microsoft Word after I’ve discovered a new brushstroke in the fonts section.

When I look closely, the lines between “what’s a website,” “what’s entertainment,” “what’s social,” all start to blur. And everything feels online; we’ve long crossed the threshold of the Internet of Things and into a reality where the biosphere and noosphere are increasingly cross-pollinating.