The phrase "jumping the shark" is used to argue that a creative outlet or work appears to be making a misguided attempt at generating new attention or publicity for something that is perceived to be once, but no longer, widely popular.

I guess I should thank The Fonz for having inspired the coining of that phrase. Back in what I like to call the day, exploring the web and sharing links was widely popular.

As a kind of self-appointed tour guide to the web, my early efforts brought more attention to me than I ever wanted (or could handle). To be honest, it was arduous at times dealing with some of the trolls and opportunists that popularity brings.

I’ve never seen the web as a business opportunity. A hunger for engaging with others, not popularity (or profit), is what’s driven my desire to be a curator (of sorts). Knowing that others enjoyed something I shared has always been the gratification I was after. Fame and fortune are highly overrated.

and then the web changed

With the dawn of Web 2.0 came a larger web centralized in a few huge silos and the demise of personal websites in general. It became harder to find the type of websites I wanted to share. Let me be honest again. The growing popularity of social media and scarcity of personal websites since the inception of Web 2.0 made my ‘job’ harder but it also made the curation thing more meaningful to me.

So I’ve kept plugging away through the years - as the popularity of exploring the web diminished, jumping the shark brought me a new sense of personal fulfillment. I’m odd like that

a new web is evolving

No. I’m not talking about Web3. I’m talking about that original smaller web gradually coming back as we speak. Thanks to the efforts of the IndieWeb movement, unique personal site hosting opportunities like Neocities and numerous other ways to easily create a website, (along with a growing dissatisfaction with social media), things are finally changing again... for the better.

To name just a few, thanks to people like Kicks Condor (href.cool) and Sadgrl (Yesterlinks) and sites like The Yesterweb and Gossip’s Web, a growing number of people are once again creating their own websites, exploring the web, and sharing links. The resurgence of webrings has been helpful too.

Put your skis on and join the fun. Jumping the shark ain’t so bad!