The Mainstream Web.

Have you been on the internet recently? I think something's broken.

Somehow we accepted that websites just run code we didn't ask for, to tell some companies we do not want to hear from, about who we are and what what we do. Then, it's just faceless companies all the way down, selling and reselling this info merrily to one another. All so in the end I can block an ad for sunglasses that some algorithm somewhere decided are perfect for me and I need them right now!

Obviously this must greatly profit everybody involved. Otherwise that original website I visited to read a 500 word article wouldn't be happy to spend money to also serve me: two dozens of images, a video playing in the background, embeded social media content and sliding windows with extra CONTENT™ all over the page until my laptop puts the fan into high gear and begs for mercy.

Thanks, I hate it.

...and I don't even want to start ranting about the state of web development. I mean, I will one day, but not today. However, if you feel you need more "old man yells at THE CLOUD™" style content in your life, especially from someone much smarter and funnier than me, I highly recommend two of Maciej Cegłowski's talks: Hunted by Data and The Website Obesity Crisis. Enjoy.