In this edition of The Shark Tank, we're taking you BACK...to the FUTURE! Well, actually, we're going back to the past. We're going back, courtesy of the Internet Wayback Machine (aka, the HTML Delorean), to look at five of the most popular websites that have, shall we say, come a long way, baby. Without further ado, let's pump this thing up to 88 mph and head out on the information superhighway of yesterday. The only question is...do we have enough road to make it?
"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need any roads."
#5. Google
There's literally no point in giving Google any kind of introduction at all. If you don't know what it is, we would tell you to Google it, but then you would be even more confused than ever. Suffice to say, we're not sure how you found The Shark Tank on your first day surfing the Internet, but we're glad to have you. Now, take a look at the search engine Goliath in its fledgling days: 1998 (on the Stanford server, no less!)
Click to enlarge"Great Scott!"
#4. YahooThough it has long since lost the search engine war to the mighty Google, Yahoo remains one of the most popular sites on the Web. With one ill-advised feature after another, Yahoo manages to stay afloat with commercial appeal, name brand recognition, and that hilarious, gossipy OMG weekly feature (did you SEE what Kate Hudson was wearing??). Here's how they looked way back in 1996:
Click to enlarge"I remember when this was all farmland as far the eye could see. Old man Peabody owned all of this. He had this crazy idea about breeding pine trees."
#3. MySpaceLong the king of social networking, MySpace has recently fallen to number two, thanks to the simple (and we do mean
simple) pleasures of Facebook. Still, MySpace remains an enormously successful Internet juggernaut, thanks to increased customization, a huge music-based following, and people who have invested too much time in their layouts to just leave it all behind. The funny thing about MySpace isn't so much what they used to look like under current management, but how many other companies had the domain, but failed to take advantage of it. Here are three snapshots from Myspace.com's history, with the last one being the current MySpace's earliest known configuration:
Click to enlarge"Damn."
Click to enlarge"Damn!"
Click to enlarge"Damn Damn!"
#2. FacebookWell, why not. Tagging and status updating might be out of control, but there's no denying the power of Facebook when it comes to uniting people on the Internet. If only these people had been able to realize that potential:
Click to enlargeThen there was the earliest inception of the current Facebook, from 2006, when the site was geared mainly to college students (although, now there are TWO Facebooks!):
Click to enlarge"Look. There's a rhythmic ceremonial ritual coming up."
#1. YoutubeAs hard as it is to believe that YouTube has only been around since 2005, it's even harder to believe that it was almost a
dating site:
Click to enlarge"Please excuse the crudity of this model. I didn't have time to build it to scale."
Knowthyself24's argument is layered so deeply that a single glance is not enough to capture the meaning behind it. Let's start with the opening volley, "u fuckers r mean as fuck". Knowthyself24 admirably dispenses with pleasantries and gets right to the heart of the matter. Not only does this do a nice job of setting up her argument, it sets her opponents off balance and weakens their eventual retort. Unfortunately, this argument is softened somewhat by the middle act, in which she makes an unwarranted assumption about both her audience and her opponents. There is no way for her to know precisely the net worth of everyone commenting on the video, and it's uncertain whether this use of "ironically" is appropriate for the situation. She does a nice job wrapping up her point, however, with her piercing observation that American is a place of trends.
Under normal circumstances, I would expect an argument of this caliber to go largely unchallenged. However, the rich tapestry of intelligence that is the YouTube comments section surprised me once again. Themjloverz came back almost instantly with this biting response:
The mjloverz not only deconstructs the preceding argument, but he manages to drive a wedge into the very video itself. Rather than attacking any one commenter directly, he manages to dismiss the video and the artist by labeling them both as "gay". Does he mean that Miley Cyrus is a homosexual? Almost certainly not. He means it as a generic insult, which continues to thrive with power, particularly among teenage males, at whom his argument was directed. He goes on to use the medium of art to further his explanation and his feelings about the video. He finishes up by making sure his audience knows where his allegiances lie, an important aspect of presenting a clear and honest argument.
While it's important to realize how effortlessly brilliant arguments can result from blatantly contentious videos such as this one, you can use the above examples to bring life, fervor, and logic to your own debates, regardless of the topic. I hope this study will serve you well in your future arguments.