The internet is broken – don’t you see the writing on the wall?

The internet is broken {to us at least!}

Have you noticed how the internet is broken? How about search results that RARELY give you organic, home-grown content. Or honest reviews. Mostly from “big corporations” and other “mainstream” garbage. This has profoundly changed in just the past year or two or three. Doesn’t matter the search engine either.

Even searches WITHIN “big” (stupid ass) companies like Walmart are horrific. Prices are wrong. Stock levels are wrong. Take a look at this desktop PC we were looking at.

The store had three in stock, and the price there was $349. The website shows $457. “None in stock.” Wrong on every level. Perhaps they’re taking advantage of lazy sloths who cannot muster up the energy to drive to the store and see for themselves.

Additionally – “shopping” online has taken a turn for the worse. GOOD choices are rapidly disappearing. GOOD deals are falling by the wayside. Price-fixing and limited options seem to be the name of the game. All in the name of “algorithms” and “data mining.” If you don’t get what I’m talking about – you better put your thinking cap on.

Monopolies, anyone?

(FYI – you can buy that great desktop “refurbished” with a warranty for $169 bucks on eBay.)

“INFLUENCERS” are also ruining the internet

Another “trend” that has degraded the authenticity of the internet is “INFLUENCERS.”

These are people with sizeable followings (social media these days, blogs in days past).

They are summoned by brands and companies to “review” their products in exchange for FREE SHIT. Just one of the reasons why the internet is broken beyond belief.

What happens most of the time? People CANNOT leave bad reviews or write-ups because they FEAR their stream of free shit will stop. What company would continue funding these people if the reviews were BAD? None!

Same is true from mainstream news. You stop peddling the narrative – you get cut off, or worse – dead. Ask Andrew Breitbart.

That SUCKS ASS.

And the crappy thing about “influencers,” is that you’re never fully sure if they were “influenced” or not. Even though the FTC laws say these days that you MUST “disclose” if you were paid or commissioned to promote a product – that does NOT mean that people are skirting that system.

It might very well be that even posts that say “I WAS NOT PAID” for this review – are in fact just the opposite.

NOTHING IS SINCERE ANYMORE (except Hoboken411 and TBP, of course).

Why is this happening?

We have our theories. As these billion-dollar monopolies get bigger and more powerful – their collective (essentially human) egos show their faces. It is par for the course for any power structure throughout history. Any minor “uprising” (i.e., in this case – “search popularity”) is deemed a threat (along with the corporate cohorts who handsomely reward for top results), and those voices who were gaining traction get squelched.

Independent voices now have little chance at getting heard to the same audience as just five years ago. Another reason the internet is broken.

It seems they do not want alternative ideas and thoughts to “disrupt” the mainstream narrative. And that also SUCKS ASS.

The internet was once viewed as the “wild west” of ideas. Where concepts and new thoughts could thrive.

That is no longer the case. You get your “TV Dinner” style output – and that is that.

What can you do?

Well, for one – if and when you stumble across something that is “against the grain,” stick with it. Share with friends and family.

Two, and once you do start “finding” reliable sources for anything online – BOOKMARK them for one – and for God’s sake – USE AN RSS READER. This keeps you up to date with sources you trust and want to monitor.

And finally – one smart tip is to stop treating “Google” as your library. Pretty much everyone I know is SO CONDITIONED to just “looking something up” via a search box, and almost UNCONDITIONALLY BELIEVING THE RESULTS! Doesn’t matter the topic. If it comes up on page one – then “it must be true.”

THAT belief needs to be flushed down the drain. That falsehood is destroying humanity.

We cannot allow ourselves (as humanity) to be so reliant on the search engines and the first few results and corresponding “facts.”

Unfortunately – this is what society has become. No one is questioning all of this. Like the CUI BONO? aspects of why information is being presented in those ways. Not one in thousand will say to themselves “I do not trust these first few pages of results, I’ll continue searching.” No. They will just believe it wholeheartedly and parrot those sentiments to others.

Deep thoughts – a thing of the past

This whole “devolution” kind of brings me down sometimes.

Mainly because it’s disheartening to live among people who lost their ability to have deep thoughts. I miss the days of spending time around people with their own unique ideas and concepts. Uninfluenced by the digital world.

It’s rare I find a person who is above the fray. So rare. Most of the time, they’re a generation above me. But almost never anyone younger.

Just some food for thought as you tap away on your apps. If that means anything at all anymore.

About Hoboken411

We’ve been “blogging” as Hoboken411 since before Twatter and Fakebook infected the masses. Back in 2005, it was all about politics and other bullshit in and around Hoboken, New Jersey (and the tri-state NYC area in general). But since those social media “apps” have amazingly coerced the majority of the populous to “blog for free” (to make Fuckerberg insanely wealthy) we’ve taken a slightly different approach. We talk about whatever the fuck we feel like talking about (including some things in Hoboken). But our main objective is to slap the “mentally-enslaved morons” (as Mark Dice eloquently says) upside the face with a dose of reality. We know full well that most people won’t be receptive to our ideas all the time. But feathers get ruffled to this day still – which means (as they say in the medical industry): “It’s working!”