[ImprovedSilence]

>> We are a generation who will leave nothing behind.

I mean, if you want you could hand write letters. Or post your chats on a private blog/wiki for posterities sake.

You might be older than me, but you just made me feel like an old timer. I feel like I learned this lesson when AIM shuttered, and I am now numb to the feeling that all our data is both fleeting and yet permanent. Everything since then I've been much less attached to any data I put out there unless I make a real effort to save it on my own bare metal. Also I like to think that somewhere I've got my AIM chat logs saved off in all their ever changing font/multi-colored glory....

(Obligatory mention of Google Reader, beloved by many, but completely contrary to the internet they want you to see)

[andai]

Serious question: why did they get rid of fonts and colors? And most IM apps still don't have handwriting. I had entire relationships built around sending back and forth silly drawings in handwriting.

I feel like the quality of instant messaging software peaked in the early 2000s, and 15 years later we still haven't achieved the same level, or even close?

[ImprovedSilence]

Good question. The cynic in me wants to say it's because chat apps can't mine "creative expression" like they can plain text . Or maybe just single-minded UI design thinking that under no circumstances should anyone use pink comic sans.... Either way, what you're describing really strikes home to me. I miss the internet that was full of colorful dialog, encouraged creative expression, and was full of interesting offbeat websites willing to inspire the imagination. These days even most of hacker news is atlantic or bloomberg articles, and I can't find any good design/image blogs that just curate good shit anymore (ffffound anyone?)....