2006-2009 YouTube was GOAT
Actual viral videos, not that trending tab shyt
Video responses fukkery
Every one and their dog making AMVs and Quickscoping montages
Finding full movies and porn
Could upload a vid with music without fear of copyright strikes
There was something very pure and raw about the early days of the online world before everything was wrangle in. Facebook in 2009 had that spark. I remember logging on to see what the move was for the weekend, and seeing the pics from last night's carnage.
Snapchat and Tinder in 2012 had that spark. Scrolling through your friends' feeds. Swiping on a chick and meeting up for coffee and chill.
I think the phenomenon is due to know one really knowing the potential of a platform when it first comes out, so you have a whole bunch of people doing their own thing.
Slowly, the people in the board room start thinking about monetization, and the animus is sucked out as the content starts looking more polished, homogeneous, and sterile.