It seems like a no-brainer that the internet has been a blessing to makers all over the world.  And I won’t begin to argue that the maker/hacker community is better off without it.  But I will say that for me, the internet has a very real drawback.  And if the internet has taught me anything, it is that if I’m thinking something, a bunch of other people are also thinking, or have already had the same thought.

Which brings me to my point.  While the internet is a great facilitator to provide the information and support I need when trying to accomplish a particular hack, say, the information can be oppressive to my initiative.  For instance, if I have what I consider an original idea that I’m excited to invest time in to make it reality, inevitably, my internet searches reveal that not only has it been done, but it’s been perfected and carried beyond anywhere I had dreamed of taking this.  And thus my enthusiasm is squashed.

Which is probably a personal flaw.  Some sort of form of procrastination, perhaps.  I feel like a horse that needs blinders to run well.  I need the information that will help push my project forward, but will be easily distracted/discouraged by other projects that may or may not be running the same “race” as myself.  And this is a shame, because, oftentimes, the most beneficial outcomes of a project are the lessons learned and ideas generated about someone tangent subjects.

So obviously we already have been told “there’s nothing new under the sun” and “it’s all been done before”, but the internet has forced upon me the paralyzing reality that it’s true.

None of this is to say I’d be better off without it; I just need to learn to get over the fact that I will not ever be doing anything for the first time, or be so passionate about my project that I won’t care if people have done it before and better than me.