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I miss the old CNET of the 2000s. It had a message board back then, true halcyon days when websites had the genius idea of providing something that users could

by rchaud 4y ago

I miss the old CNET of the 2000s. It had a message board back then, true halcyon days when websites had the genius idea of providing something that users could come back to, instead of clickbait articles with auto-playing video ads. But CNET is just the canary in the coal mine; I haven't gone there for tech coverage in over a decade because of the bland writing and the lack of clear editorial voice. The problem for me will be when the entire internet reads like this.

lax0 4y ago
Whenever I see CNET it takes me back. And that shareware and freeware download section. So many gems were stuffed on there.
- rchaud 4y ago
  download.com news.com They really had two of the most highly coveted URLs on the internet for a long time.
ghaff 4y ago
There are still some good writers there. But it's become mostly gadget/tech tips. [ADDED: But, really, mainstream consumer tech news in general.] It was a lot broader in the 2000s and had much more personality with a fairly large stable of affiliated blog network writers (which I did for a number of years). After CBS bought them, they started becoming a lot more narrowly focused and homogenized--and click-optimized.
- rchaud 4y ago
  What was the timing of the CBS acquisition? I used to visit 5 different tech blogs back in 2012 or so, and it was clear that they were all shifting towards "general tech culture" instead of gadgets. I partially blame the iPhone for this, it killed the idea of single-purpose gadgets like MP3 players and handheld consoles which usually had their own quirks. With those products gone (and CES looking much more barren), the articles became more about stuff like Tesla and Uber, or what app updates Google and Apple were pushing out that week.
  - ghaff 4y ago
    2008. As I recall, there were shifts already in place. The general popularity of journalists/analysts/etc. having essentially personal blogs under their parent company brand was already falling out of fashion as companies realized their own brands were being diluted. But CBS was obviously uncomfortable specifically with non-staffers using the parent platform.

by rchaud 4y ago

lax0 4y ago

Whenever I see CNET it takes me back. And that shareware and freeware download section. So many gems were stuffed on there.

rchaud 4y ago
download.com news.com They really had two of the most highly coveted URLs on the internet for a long time.

ghaff 4y ago

There are still some good writers there. But it's become mostly gadget/tech tips. [ADDED: But, really, mainstream consumer tech news in general.] It was a lot broader in the 2000s and had much more personality with a fairly large stable of affiliated blog network writers (which I did for a number of years). After CBS bought them, they started becoming a lot more narrowly focused and homogenized--and click-optimized.

rchaud 4y ago
What was the timing of the CBS acquisition? I used to visit 5 different tech blogs back in 2012 or so, and it was clear that they were all shifting towards "general tech culture" instead of gadgets. I partially blame the iPhone for this, it killed the idea of single-purpose gadgets like MP3 players and handheld consoles which usually had their own quirks. With those products gone (and CES looking much more barren), the articles became more about stuff like Tesla and Uber, or what app updates Google and Apple were pushing out that week.
- ghaff 4y ago
  2008. As I recall, there were shifts already in place. The general popularity of journalists/analysts/etc. having essentially personal blogs under their parent company brand was already falling out of fashion as companies realized their own brands were being diluted. But CBS was obviously uncomfortable specifically with non-staffers using the parent platform.