Hipper than thou

One thing the web is good at is creating a good deal of disucssion about itself. The �instant publishing� that the �net provides is the perfect platform for navel-gazing (where are we now) and prognosticating (where are we going). In fact, that’s basically what my site has been about since day one.

But recently the big players have cannonballed into the pool, and are making huge waves. The notion of Sony or Time Warner doing business on the Web is just starting to sink in among the net.intelligensia. Will the great unwashed masses of web surfers head straight to what is familiar, comfortable and safe?

The folks over at Suck seem to be preoccupied with this issue. Besides prognosticating on the business plan of Netscape, they�ve created a useful table which compares web publishers with record labels. Which means big site = huge entertainment congolmerate, small independent site = indie rock label.

Meanwhile, everyone keeps wondering who the folks at Suck actually are. The domain name is registered to some �net service provider in Cleveland, but the language of the site is pure SF SOMA. Could it be the alternate personality of Ned Brainard, let loose from the tight grip of Louis Rossetto?

Originally published on Stating the Obvious.