One Time On The Internet

In this episode we dive into Mandela effects, what year the earth ended, and why someone might want to lucid dream their way outta this place.

Kicking off a brand new era of One Time On The Internet, your deep dive into days of the webs past. Today we're getting acquainted by sharing a bit of our personal internet history!

On this final episode of the History of YouTube trilogy (and also the Season One finale of One Time On The Internet), we're talking about VSauce, Machinima, College Humor, and the Vlog Brothers. Hang out for with us for one last time this season as we discuss these four wildly different behemoths of YouTube and their impact on the platform and internet culture at large.

On this episode we welcome guest Ian Hecox, the co-creator and star of Smosh, as we dive into more history of Early YouTube, including Machinima, College Humor, VSauce, Vlog Brothers, and more!

Do you know why the YouTube logo is red? Any thoughts on what Janet Jackson has to do with the creation of the platform? Oh YouTube, the website we know today as a resource for your instructional videos on how to make everything from cabinets to bongs, or watching video game walkthroughs, or perhaps even comedy sketches, started with a completely different reason in mind. In this episode we walk through how YouTube became YouTube (the founders and what their intentions were), and the early influencers of the platform, people like Brookers, one of the original creators who became huge and then whose content is now largely gone. We get into it.

Welcome to the world of animated avatar streamers & Influencers. From the dawn of their creation in Japan with Tokimeki Memorial, a video game that created one of the first VTubers, to Code Miko, a current Twitch streamer who is pushing the bounds of what it means to be a VTuber and constantly breaking the rules to do it, we're exploring the evolution of these VTubers. And with it, the discovery that sometimes people's identities are sometimes more important as avatars than their real life identities.

Piracy. You know you've done it! And on this episode, we're exposing you as we talk about two stories that highlight the wild wild west of the early bit torrent days. In story #1, Saige and Harry cover Kim Dotcom, the mega personality behind Mega Upload. And in Story #2, Rowan and Bijan discuss KickassTorrents, a bit torrent website that became famous for the US Justice Department going after its founder Artem Vaulin, his trial on copyright infringement, and his travails in Poland. (edited) [9:13 PM]

In 2003, Linden Labs created Second Life, an online space billed as “A New Society. A New World. Created by You”. It was a place where people could create avatars to meet, travel, and prop up in-game economies that would generate real-world money. This was a new kind of place on the internet. And… It. Became. Wild. In this episode we dive into the stories of Second Life that put this virtual world on the map. We talk about rise and fall of Gotcha Machines, Woodbury University, the “griefer” groups that formed to wreak havoc and the “Justice League” that formed in response to fight them. And we're talking about Anshe Chung, the virtual real estate mogul that CNN called “the Rockefeller of Second Life".

Malware, Spyware, Ransomware: crypto worms created to unleash mayhem, but sometimes joy. These cyber attacks of nefarious codes have gone by various names over the years, and we're talking about some of the most expensive and some of the funniest. From the I Love You virus to WannaCry to the Pikachu virus, we've got some stories for you. Also, Mark Zuckerberg's cake may or may not have been discussed… again.

On this episode we're talking about our favorite memes ever… and a few we made (and by “we” we mean Harry)

Harambe, DogeCoin, Rebecca Black, Kony2012… all this and more on this weeks episode of The History Of Memes, Part 2.

Memes. An absolute essential part of internet culture that in most cases take on lives of their own. In this first episode of our three-part series on the history of memes, we cover who coined the term, how they began, and the early days of meme culture. ERMAHGERD!

Two stories for ya this week about Reddit. Story #1: Bijan and guest host Ryan Broderick discuss what happened in 2014 when a Reddit user set out to discredit Tumblr by creating a post so hilariously dishonest it became notorious, and as such representative of Reddit culture of the day. And in story #2, Saige and Harry talk about the rise and fall of Unidan, Reddit's version of Steve Irwin with his opening catchphrase "biologist here" and his love of crows.

In 2013 and 2018 respectively, two conventions unfolded and soon became infamous for being the disasters they inflicted upon their fans. In story #1, Bijan and Saige peel back the layers of what happened at DashCon, the unofficial convention for Tumblr... and the now legendary ball-pit. And for story #2, Rowan and Harry discuss TanaCon, the spite convention to rule them all. Sit back, grab your snacks, and enjoy.

What happens when a brand's meme and marketing game is on point (and those brands whose game are not)? For our first story we talk about the first brand to be welcomed by the internet - Denny's - and all the things they did right. For our second story, this episode would not be complete without talking about KFC and all the ways they've broken (and continue to break) the internet. BONUS UPDATE: We learned many new things about Harry tonight. We look forward to your thoughts on it. Also, maybe leave us a comment? WE LOVE COMMENTS!

On this episode, we're talking about the simulation of human intelligence in machines, and how its applications have developed on the web. For our first story we're discussing Cleverbot, an AI chat web page that in 2011 passed the Turing Test. Up next is the story of Bina48, an AI robot from the perspective of a queer African-American that turned our perceptions of AI on its head.

ARGs for short, these games are unlike anything you've ever "played" before. Because they begin as games you don't know you're playing. Popularized by the internet, the game can start with a video, a tweet, a Reddit post. All it takes is for a group of people to play along. And now you have a game. In the first story, we cover the video series Petscop, a walk-through of an unfinished video game that delves into unexpected territory. And for the second story, we're talking about The Sun Vanished, which began with a simple tweet that said "help"

This episode we peel back the pixels on early internet Flash Games and the ensuing chaos of trying to stay alive with massive server bills and Scientology owners. First up, Newgrounds, a user-generated website that began with Flash games like 'Club A Seal' and 'Assassin', but became famous as the home of viral videos like 'Numa Numa Dance'. This is followed by our second story, Neopets, in which the original creators accidentally sold a majority stake in their children's Pokemon-esque company to Scientologists who in turn decided to run their new acquisition using the "80 trillion year-old" organizational management technique developed by an ancient civilization. We wish we were kidding.

Yahoo recently announced that it will be shutting down their “ask site” Yahoo Answers and so on this episode, we pour one out in this Yahooeulogy for the legendary hive-mind site for the internet’s weirdest questions as we tackle two stories about it: First, The history of Yahoo Answers. And second, Ken M, the wholesome troll account that drove the unknown fits of verbal rage.

On this episode we go hunting for the stories where fans took over and made something their own... on the internet. In the first story, Bijan and guest host Anthony Carboni explore video game developers/prankster group Arcane Kids and the Sonic The Hedgehog game they created because Sega would never make it. And in the second story we dive into internet legend, Slender Man and the twist to the horror genre only the internet could invent.

How many chairs equate to a real US dollar? Tonight we go sleuthing for the stories of currencies of in-game economies and why people spend real money for digital items. From the modern video game EVE Online to the children’s game of yesteryear - Habbo Hotel. Get ready for stories only the internet could devise.

In 2006, not long after YouTube was created, a vlog popped up called lonelygirl15 from a girl named Bree who just wanted to connect with the outside world. Four and a half months later, it became known as one of the first “internet hoaxes”, creating a War of The Worlds moment that modern culture had not seen before. Join us as we dive deep into the history of this phenomenon with co-creator Mesh Flinders.

Quick content warning! This episode contains discussions about or directly relating to cyberbullying and suicide, topics potentially sensitive for you or others. This week we’re diving into two stories about MySpace that defined the social network of the time. First, MySpace celebrities! The rise of the Influencer was popularized in this era and MySpace was a major platform for that. And for our second piece, we discuss the dawn of cyberbullying, and specifically, the Megan Meier story, and how it led to change.

In a world where meeting romantic partners online is the norm, we dive into two stories under this topic. First, where it all began, with the one of the world’s first known computer dating applications. And the second, in which a website designed to explicitly facilitate people looking to cheat on their spouses goes horribly wrong in more ways than anyone could imagine.

On this episode we cover two wildly disparate corners of fan fiction: "My Immortal", the Harry Potter fanfic that was massively popular, and serial killer fan fiction, featuring some of the most widely known killers in interesting situations.

For our very first episode, Bijan, Rowan, Harry, and Saige explore MMOs. One story's about Corrupted Blood, the WoW in-game pandemic that foreshadowed things to come, and then worlds.com, one of the original MMOs that's still around today... but maybe for not the reason you expect.

One Time On The Internet - Dead MMOs, Reddit mysteries, old Social Networks, and everything else you love about the internet... or wish you knew more about. Welcome to One Time On The Internet where we explore the weird and wonderful of internet history.