Make the Most of Facebook and Instagram Updates for Attention

The World Wide Web has been around long enough for young designers and developers to study in historical terms, and it seems as if they really like what they are seeing and learning. We already know that cultural concepts have a tendency to make a comeback for purely aesthetic or nostalgic reasons, but there seems to be more at play when we take a closer look at what is happening today in the world of web development.

When you look at Hey.com, the most recent project from Basecamp, you may think that it has been developed with front-end frameworks such as ReactJS or JSON, but the truth is that this email progressive web app is actually rendered on the server side. In essence, what users get is compressed HTML code in addition to links and forms that they can use to manage their Hey.com email; this happens to be very similar to how the original version of Hotmail functioned when it was acquired by Microsoft in the 1990s.

Single page websites for personal projects and blogging are also making waves once again; as far as intent, they are more similar to GeoCities than they are to Tumblr or even MySpace. One leading provider in this regard is Carrd, a simple and responsive platform that delivers all the fun and intimacy of the early blog platforms. Another platform that seems to be borrowing design and development principles from the 1990s is Micro.blog, which is purposely removed from larger platforms such as Medium and Twitter, meaning that they do not bother with social media features.

As for content, this is where the nostalgia is pinging even harder. Online discussion about this issue is currently centered on how social media posts seem to miss the mark in terms of true dedication to content creation. Facebook updates and Instagram stories can be deeply personal, but most of them are too casual for readers, viewers, and listeners to become invested in. What is certainly refreshing to see is how pure audio podcasts and MP3 blogs are bringing back the 1990s vibe of putting together content that feels intimate while at the same time boasting great production values. For more information click here https://mxb.dev/blog/the-return-of-the-90s-web/.