A Web of Laughter and Tears

Recently the New York Times ran an article headlined, ��As the Web Matures, Fun Is Hard to Find,�� citing as evidence a falloff in random surfing. The piece quoted Web pioneers who had once made a living culling ��cool�� sites but who��d now had to give it up, usually after trying to cash in. And while I don��t look to the Times as the reigning authority on All Things Fun and Funny, I was still puzzled. Do its reporters get different forwards in their in-box than I do? Do they get only reprints of op-ed pieces on the Middle East instead of what I get��an unending cascade of animations of George Bush doing a spastic macarena? Do they really bookmark only Pentagon briefing sites instead of what I bookmark��The Onion, with its stories along the lines of ��Southerner Either Looking for ��Pawn Shop�� Or ��Porn Shop����?

Although we at Y-Life agree that a lot of the early surfing silliness has worn thin in these more utilitarian times (and gently remind you that we were pointing to Incredibly Useful Sites when others were profiling pet-food glitz), I guess it��s the contrarian streak in us that makes us say, at this solemn moment: nyuk, nyuk, nyuk. Because the truth is, the Net��s still the largest trove of fun��both good and unutterably bad��ever created. It��s an absolute wealth of humor and parody, as long as you know where to look. Which is why we��ve put together a 12-page roundup of ��The Web��s Funniest Sites,�� tested by the slightly off-balance personnel in our state-of-the-art Laugh Labs. After reading it, you��ll have a hard time keeping a straight face when people tell you the Web��s no fun anymore.

Linking from that to a rather more serious topic (and isn��t that just like the Net?), here��s something valuable that really is going to be harder to find: Net radio. One of the joys of online life in recent years has been the sprouting of thousands of amateur and mom-and-pop ��radio stations�� across the Internet. As we��ve covered in these pages, radio Webcasts offer playlists of every musical stripe, including material you can��t listen to on conventional AM or FM. They offer programming from parts of the world and musical sensibilities you never knew existed. They offer renewed life to old, wonderful genres no record label would waste a cent on. In short, they have quite literally opened up a new musical horizon and given a kind of exposure to new and old artists that simply wasn��t possible before. Plus, streaming these Webcasts lets you listen to music without copying or storing it, so you can tune in without feeling you��ve just run up a pirate flag.

Now that universe is threatened. For reasons too twisty to go into here, most of the smaller stations (the very heart of Net radio, in our view) may be forced to pay royalties far in excess of what their conventional brethren are charged��and do so retroactively to 1998. In many cases, these tariffs come out to two or three times the entire operating revenue of the stations and would shutter all but those few funded by the corporate elite. This is less a case of Big Brother than Big Lobby; what it seems to boil down to is that the record labels (in the form of Napster��s old nemesis, the Recording Industry Association of America) had more clout and money than the little guys had. I believe fans��and all but the most popular artists��will be the poorer for it. I urge you to inform yourself, and take action, at SaveInternetRadio.org.

Copyright © 2002 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Yahoo! Internet Life.