3 ms·

To reflect on HN trends for a second: people seem to really like "uncovered" things. Like some lost song, or archeological piece or, as here, identity of a pers

by vvpan 2y ago

To reflect on HN trends for a second: people seem to really like "uncovered" things. Like some lost song, or archeological piece or, as here, identity of a person in a mostly inconsequential context. I also don't seem to recall these kinds of posts hitting front page much until recently. What is this? A new wave of nostalgia for long lost past on the internet? Hacker News demographic change? Discovery of a new marketing vector? Or just me seeing a pattern where there is none?

dangsux 2y ago
[dead]
UncleOxidant 2y ago
Maybe people are tired of the other stuff that's been crowding all the information channels (related to an event happening today) and are happy for some lighthearted news for a change?
- kelnos 2y ago
  I'm on a no-politics diet today, but I would have loved this article on any day. It's just a delightful story. I think in news jargon it would be called a "human interest" story, which when you really think about those words, really nails it for me. I am deeply interested in other humans, especially of the non-celebrity variety.
bink 2y ago
I can only speak for myself, but the Internet regularly has me going down rabbit holes into unsolved mysteries that end with no solution. I find articles like this refreshing simply because I can close the tab with a smile rather than with more questions.
switz 2y ago
I can't speak to the trend, but for me, it's this idea that invalidates tastemakers and shows that good ideas inevitably stand on their own. Tony Hawk is widely respected, and yet, he's enamored with this forgotten photo of a young girl skateboarding in the rain. And she's holding an umbrella. We all agree-it's a wonderful photo. Turns out, the girl–in the most respectful way–is just an ordinary person, and the photographer asked her to hold an umbrella, because he felt it would be a good idea. It was a good idea, and many years later the creative result has risen to the surface. It's like when you go to a concert and witness a special moment that rocks you, and then years later you find out it has millions of views on YouTube. It's democratic validation that we are experiencing beautiful moments all the time, and that we don't need a Tony Hawk to validate them. You could argue that this wouldn't be seen without Tony, or you can reflect upon the many moments that aren't validated, and yet are filled with beauty.
whaaaaat 2y ago
Is it a mostly inconsequential context? I think it's exactly the sort of context that is valuable and human and grounds us to events of our past. That one photo (and the collection of photos from the 70s linked in the article) say a lot about culture, about identity, about life and how things have evolved (or not evolved, or devolved) since then. It's a story too about celebrity, and how this picture exists in this moment, today, because a celebrity found and shared it. It's completely distorted this woman's day to day. While it seems like a positive for her, it highlights just how much power celebrity has in our mental economies. Should one person have the ability to completely blow up someone else's routine like this? I dunno! But social media definitely facilitates it! There's a ton of very interesting topics to cover here, in addition to the ones you raise, and I don't think they really are that inconsequential!
- ethbr1 2y ago
  I've thought of the related phenomenon as "the only thing you can't buy is time." I.e. there's no amount of money you can spend today to make something 45 years old So as we increasingly move into a materially post-scarcity developed world, time becomes the last scarce thing. It overlaps with nostalgia, but there's also a big component of novelty/rarity. See previous example of tracking down that song that was written for the X-Files and playing in the background in a single bar scene. Also, me blowing my friends' minds with a record I have of Richard Harris (now, "Dumbledore") reading selections from The Prophet: https://www.amazon.com/Kahlil-Gibran-Prophet-Musical-Interpretation/dp/B003H1DIJY https://www.amazon.com/Kahlil-Gibran-Prophet-Musical-Interpr...
renewiltord 2y ago
Oh I love this stuff. I went around searching for the members of the team who won the Crystal Maze https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmyoWIGw-kI&list=PLWdGI8jh26K5hDxsOubijo-cDLZ0dzWD0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmyoWIGw-kI&list=PLWdGI8jh26... (a light and fun reality adventure game show) and it was good fun to see.
- Minor49er 2y ago
  What a reference. Incidentally, I started watching The Crystal Maze for the first time a few months ago after finding episodes of it on Archive.org. It's like watching adults running through Legends of The Hidden Temple, but with more urgency and charm. It's such a fun show
- vvpan 2y ago
  Oh that's fun. Were they surprised to be sought?
beeflet 2y ago
It's uncommon in the era of easily accessible information. Ditto for ARGs.
gralab 2y ago
I have no data to back it up, but I believe HN saw a huge number of redditors moving here after the user protests a year or two ago.
devjab 2y ago
This isn’t new on HN, these sort of stories have been here for years. If anything there have been less of them in more recent times. I think many people here like the deep dives, and well written stories, about some specific interest.
soneca 2y ago
I might be wrong, but I have the impression that this kind of post was always part of HN. Since, idk, 10 years ago.
viraptor 2y ago
One reason for the popularity of that growing could be the accumulation of online things old enough to care about and enough sources to be able to track things down. I mean, only a decade ago some things were still fresh while now they're worthy of some research. See for example Jeffiot working with the community to track down the source of the vision test pattern (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D7I7fmZdOA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D7I7fmZdOA) or the trumpet skull gif (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYcHOEjGzPA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYcHOEjGzPA). In 2000s the information wouldn't be out there for the first one and the tools and community would be missing too. The second one would be just one of millions of gifs that nobody really cares about yet.

by vvpan 2y ago

dangsux 2y ago

[dead]

UncleOxidant 2y ago

Maybe people are tired of the other stuff that's been crowding all the information channels (related to an event happening today) and are happy for some lighthearted news for a change?

kelnos 2y ago
I'm on a no-politics diet today, but I would have loved this article on any day. It's just a delightful story. I think in news jargon it would be called a "human interest" story, which when you really think about those words, really nails it for me. I am deeply interested in other humans, especially of the non-celebrity variety.

bink 2y ago

I can only speak for myself, but the Internet regularly has me going down rabbit holes into unsolved mysteries that end with no solution. I find articles like this refreshing simply because I can close the tab with a smile rather than with more questions.

switz 2y ago

I can't speak to the trend, but for me, it's this idea that invalidates tastemakers and shows that good ideas inevitably stand on their own. Tony Hawk is widely respected, and yet, he's enamored with this forgotten photo of a young girl skateboarding in the rain. And she's holding an umbrella. We all agree-it's a wonderful photo. Turns out, the girl–in the most respectful way–is just an ordinary person, and the photographer asked her to hold an umbrella, because he felt it would be a good idea. It was a good idea, and many years later the creative result has risen to the surface. It's like when you go to a concert and witness a special moment that rocks you, and then years later you find out it has millions of views on YouTube. It's democratic validation that we are experiencing beautiful moments all the time, and that we don't need a Tony Hawk to validate them. You could argue that this wouldn't be seen without Tony, or you can reflect upon the many moments that aren't validated, and yet are filled with beauty.

whaaaaat 2y ago

Is it a mostly inconsequential context? I think it's exactly the sort of context that is valuable and human and grounds us to events of our past. That one photo (and the collection of photos from the 70s linked in the article) say a lot about culture, about identity, about life and how things have evolved (or not evolved, or devolved) since then. It's a story too about celebrity, and how this picture exists in this moment, today, because a celebrity found and shared it. It's completely distorted this woman's day to day. While it seems like a positive for her, it highlights just how much power celebrity has in our mental economies. Should one person have the ability to completely blow up someone else's routine like this? I dunno! But social media definitely facilitates it! There's a ton of very interesting topics to cover here, in addition to the ones you raise, and I don't think they really are that inconsequential!

ethbr1 2y ago
I've thought of the related phenomenon as "the only thing you can't buy is time." I.e. there's no amount of money you can spend today to make something 45 years old So as we increasingly move into a materially post-scarcity developed world, time becomes the last scarce thing. It overlaps with nostalgia, but there's also a big component of novelty/rarity. See previous example of tracking down that song that was written for the X-Files and playing in the background in a single bar scene. Also, me blowing my friends' minds with a record I have of Richard Harris (now, "Dumbledore") reading selections from The Prophet: https://www.amazon.com/Kahlil-Gibran-Prophet-Musical-Interpretation/dp/B003H1DIJY https://www.amazon.com/Kahlil-Gibran-Prophet-Musical-Interpr...

renewiltord 2y ago

Oh I love this stuff. I went around searching for the members of the team who won the Crystal Maze https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmyoWIGw-kI&list=PLWdGI8jh26K5hDxsOubijo-cDLZ0dzWD0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmyoWIGw-kI&list=PLWdGI8jh26... (a light and fun reality adventure game show) and it was good fun to see.

Minor49er 2y ago
What a reference. Incidentally, I started watching The Crystal Maze for the first time a few months ago after finding episodes of it on Archive.org. It's like watching adults running through Legends of The Hidden Temple, but with more urgency and charm. It's such a fun show
vvpan 2y ago
Oh that's fun. Were they surprised to be sought?

beeflet 2y ago

It's uncommon in the era of easily accessible information. Ditto for ARGs.

gralab 2y ago

I have no data to back it up, but I believe HN saw a huge number of redditors moving here after the user protests a year or two ago.

devjab 2y ago

This isn’t new on HN, these sort of stories have been here for years. If anything there have been less of them in more recent times. I think many people here like the deep dives, and well written stories, about some specific interest.

soneca 2y ago

I might be wrong, but I have the impression that this kind of post was always part of HN. Since, idk, 10 years ago.

viraptor 2y ago

One reason for the popularity of that growing could be the accumulation of online things old enough to care about and enough sources to be able to track things down. I mean, only a decade ago some things were still fresh while now they're worthy of some research. See for example Jeffiot working with the community to track down the source of the vision test pattern (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D7I7fmZdOA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D7I7fmZdOA) or the trumpet skull gif (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYcHOEjGzPA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYcHOEjGzPA). In 2000s the information wouldn't be out there for the first one and the tools and community would be missing too. The second one would be just one of millions of gifs that nobody really cares about yet.