Once upon a time, I loathed social media, blaming these platforms for annihilating the essence of the “pure net,” which was brimming with creators, outlaws, and radical thinkers. My mantra revolved around #resilience and #resistance, battling the #viralnetworks that threatened our online havens and eroded our privacy (though now I’m more concerned about our beloved governments). There were digital sanctuaries like Reddit, Discord, or if you prefer, 4chan. The situation grew so dire that I even contemplated and wrote about “sebukko” back in 2010.

But, my friends, that’s ancient history…

I must confess…

…that during this #quarantine, I’ve grown quite enamored with social networks and other digital ecosystems. At long last, they have evolved into what the net used to be – overflowing with entertainment, music, poetry, art, education, cooking, friendship, fun, and of course, utter nonsense.

Because…

…things seem to have changed, and I sincerely hope this continues post-#coronavirus. I feel like I’ve hopped into the Wayback Machine, returning to the 90s when connections were limited and painstakingly slow. Yet, oh my, was it exhilarating to connect and converse with people worldwide through BBS and IRC…

It’s like revisiting those blissful, inspiring days of yore when everything was possible if you could dream and DIY. A time when mainstream outlets didn’t deafen us with their noise and dictate our interests based on their offerings.

As the corona crisis began, brands momentarily reevaluated their communication strategies. However, “We the People” started sharing content and joining in. And goodness, when everyone began broadcasting, crafting, and harnessing the digital world with today’s possibilities – wow! It felt like a rebirth, with groundbreaking ideas and innovations emerging at lightning speed. Suddenly, apps like Zoom felt more like social media than a CC app, classes, art, late night flirting, happy hours, cinema session, book clubs, crowdsource google spread sheets and Lol/Rol nonsense…and hilarious nonsense all around. We’ve shifted our focus from follower counts to forming connections and virtual relationships.

While these concepts may not be novel, they’ve experienced a renaissance through modern technology, exuding hope and transforming to recapture more imaginative, inventive, and accessible digital environments “for us.” We’re pushing back against the inundation of information, state monitoring, censorship, intolerance, and data-centric tech corporations that commodify us. We’re defying the belief that the long tail benefits our enterprises, rejuvenating creativity in the process.

These ideas aren’t groundbreaking, but they’ve been revitalized through contemporary technology, fostering open-mindedness, progression, and the reclamation of more inspirational, inventive, and liberated digital ecosystems “for us.” We’re combating the deluge of information, governmental oversight, censorship, discrimination, and data-focused tech companies that view us as nothing more than merchandise, undermining creative businesses under the guise that the long tail is advantageous to our ventures.

We have to rejoin the Force… and once more pledge our allegiance to The Declaration or Cyberspace wrote in 1996 by the esteemed John Barlow, the American poet and essayist, a lyricist for the Grateful Dead, a a cyberlibertarian political activist transcending party lines, associating with both Democrats and Republicans. A founding member of both the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Freedom of the Press Foundation.

Because at the end, as you can tell…Something that started as a confession has become a love letter.