====================
 The Small Internet
====================


If you want to say something to 1,000 people,
Twitter is right over there,
next to Facebook and Instagram.

Good luck.

Have fun.

If you want to talk to _me_, though,
then sit next to me.
I want to hear what you have to say.

You'll have to do some listening too, of course,
but that's all part of the fun.

On the Large Internet,
communication is ubiquitous,
but conversation is a radical act.

On the Large Internet,
communication is cheaper than water, than air.
"Too cheap to meter."

But _conversation_,
full, deep conversation,
with kindness, consideration, mutual respect:
where exactly is that
on the Large Internet?

Maybe I just haven't found the right Reddit forum yet.

In practical terms,
when it comes to winning the lottery,
there's no significant difference
between buying a lottery ticket
and not buying one.

What are the odds
you will have a real conversation
or make a real connection
on the Large Internet?

You can comb through the Large Internet
and take that chance if you like,
but if it was me,
I'd just as soon
buy that lottery ticket.

If you want deep connection,
true community,
the Large Internet will disappoint you
over and over again.

I think we can do better.

Right here, right now,
with me writing these words
and you reading them,
you and I are creating
the Small Internet.

The Small Internet happens
when a few people
use simple protocols
to talk with each other
and nobody else.

Nothing special.

No tricks.

Just you and me,
reading, writing,
having a conversation.

What the Small Internet offers
easily, naturally, simply,
the Large Internet can't provide at all,
any more than a bulldozer can feed a baby.

Here's the problem, though:
the Large Internet, someone made it for us.
The Small Internet, we have to create ourselves.

There aren't any spectators
on the Small Internet,
only participants.

Me, I think that's a good thing.

It means you and I have work to do,
and our work matters to our colleagues,
our neighbors, our companions,
our friends.

So let's get started
while we are still young and eager.

That's what I think.

How about you?

***

gopher://republic.circumlunar.space/0/~spring/phlog/2019-01-16__The_Small_Internet.txt