I happened upon a blog post a while ago on Maciej Cegłowski’s Idle Words, called “Web Design: The First 100 Years” (apparently it’s actually a print adaptation of a talk he gave). In this post, Cegłowski proposes three different “visions of the internet”:

1. Vision 1: CONNECT KNOWLEDGE, PEOPLE, AND CATS.
2. Vision 2: FIX THE WORLD WITH SOFTWARE
3. Vision 3: BECOME AS GODS, IMMORTAL CREATURES OF PURE ENERGY LIVING IN A CRYSTALLINE PARADISE OF OUR OWN CONSTRUCTION

The discussion of all of these possible visions–and the whole post really–is fantastic. You should read it all. The part of Cegłowski’s post that resonated most with me though, was the observation that Vision 1 is unambiguously the “correct” vision, and that the others are some combination of misguided and ridiculous.

Having spent most of my career in tech, and specifically in the Bay Area echo chamber, I am particularly tired of Vision 2. It’s hard to go a day without seeing a job posting encouraging ambitious developers to work for a company that’s “changing the world” by helping rich San Franciscans find parking, or an airport billboard for something like “The Private Firewall for your Public Cloud” (I wish to Christ I was making that up). Does software contribute to the economy and make some businesses more efficient? Sure. Did the internet make it easier for me to order a new Peugeot pepper grinder from the comfort of my bed last night? Of course it did. But the abundance of venture-backed companies making glossy web and mobile apps to solve nonexistent problems for other members of the tech elite is maddening.

Cegłowski also poked a bit of fun at Vision 3, foreseen by the likes of Ray Kurzweil and other “Singularity” proponents. I tend to agree with him here, but this vision causes less grief for me personally, probably because it’s so far-out and I’m exposed to it so much less than Vision 2.

It was Vision 1, and its “correctness”, that really stuck with me. In particular, this vision of the Internet immediately made me think of a number of my favorite websites, and the attitudes and values of their authors. Let’s call them “Champions of the Internet”. While most of these august netizens came to mind without very extensive thought, they all seem to satisfy a few criteria:

1. They are not commercial: While some may do a little affiliate marketing or have found other ways to monetize their organic success, they seem to have been created mainly in the spirit of sharing a body of knowledge or creative output for free.
2. They aren’t too polished: While some of the sites have perfectly serviceable designs, they are on average basic, functional layouts with mostly text/image content. No fancy Twitter/Facebook/Pinterest-style web appiness. They probably wouldn’t have looked too surprising to the Tim Berners-Lee of the 80s.
3. They are the works of individuals: While a resource like Wikipedia is completely compatible with Vision 1, I find these masterworks of individuals to be more compelling somehow. They show how good the Internet is at enabling one person to make personal connections with the masses despite being separated by time, distance, or even death.
4. They aren’t YouTubers: There are plenty of great YouTubers and similar content creators who pretty well satisfy my Champion-of-the-Internet criteria. I guess I exclude them here because while individual creators in this category have a Vision-1 outlook, platforms like YouTube are very Vision-2 compared to the much more democratic platform that is the Internet itself. The demonitization crisis of 2016 is a perfect example of how these creators aren’t quite able to achieve the democratic promise of Vision 1.
5. They are substantial: Unlike other creations or memes like The Million Dollar Homepage or Keyboard Cat, these pages invite readers to return over and over again, for months or even years worth of original content.

Without further ado, allow me to present my Champions (in no particular order):

1. Sheldon Brown: Creator of sheldonbrown.com, an encyclopedic reference of everything bicycle-related.
   Brown passed away in 2008, but his site lives on as a both a memorial and a handy bicycle reference for future generations. I have to point out in particular his brilliant locking strategy–try it a couple times and you’ll never go back to locking through your frame.
2. Allie Brosh: Author of blog/comic Hyperbole and a Half.
   I first encountered Hyperbole and a Half through it’s amazing multipart post about depression, but the whole site is pure gold. Brosh is also the creator (albeit in her book) of my all-time favorite representation of procrastination.
3. Peter Adeney (a.k.a. Mr. Money Mustache): Author of the Mr. Money Mustache financial advice blog.
   Mr. Money Mustache (or MMM) became internet-famous after retiring in his early thirties primarily by consuming less rather than necessarily earning much more than average. From retirement saving basics like safe withdrawal rates to much more philosophical pieces on urban planning and stoicism, MMM is guaranteed to teach you something about spending less, saving more, and generally getting closer to financial independence.
4. Ken Rockwell: Creator of kenrockwell.com, perhaps the most comprehensive photography website on the Internet.
   In addition to some great posts on why your camera doesn’t matter and noticing things, Ken Rockwell’s site has an incredibly comprehensive collection of reviews of both film and digital photography equipment. He may be a little controversial for some of his particular reviews or opinions, but without question the material on his site transformed photography for me from a fiddly, difficult technical exercise to a meditative, perspective-altering art form.

So there you have it, my humble list of Champions of the Internet. Who are your champions?