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February 1, 2022

The Internet Is A Country

I recently met Francis Bourgeois.

When I told friends, family and colleagues about the chance encounter, reactions were either “wow” or “who?”.

For the uninitiated, Francis is a trainspotter. The trainspotter.

During one of the UK lockdowns he started posting videos of himself trainspotting. In the past 12 months he’s accumulated 3.5 million followers on Instagram and TikTok, became a brand ambassador for Gucci and created trainspotting videos with Joe Jonas.

What’s interesting is that upon hearing the news some of my oldest friends gave me the Alan Partridge shrug.

Friends I’ve shared so many experiences with over the past 20-odd years: school, holidays, stag do’s, weddings. They’d never heard of him. I couldn’t believe it.

As I was speaking to Francis, a queue developed behind us. People were literally waiting in line to get a selfie with this guy, yet some of my friends were none the wiser. How was this possible?

It lead me to a conclusion – the internet is a country.

The largest, most visited country in the entire world that has more attractions than any real life rival. 

A country with better distribution, a stronger network and more soft power than any sovereign state. 

Tourists visiting the UK usually come to London. But some might come to see the Midlands or the Highlands. All based off recommendations.

And it’s the same on the internet. Every person visiting the internet experiences it in their own way, shaped by recommendations in the form of cookies and algorithms that define the experience.

My version of Instagram is personalized to me in such a specific way. It’s entirely different to my friends whom I share so many obvious, long standing parallels with.

My ‘wow’ is their ‘who?’.

Once you view the internet as a country, the next step is to become a native.

Anyone can visit, but to become a notable citizen you need to contribute in some form. Writing, recording, selling, blogging, vlogging or even documenting your love of trainspotting.

As for Francis, he was a lovely bloke and exactly as he appears on his videos. He recently left Nottingham University to focus on becoming a full time social media trainspotter.

Try explaining that job to your grandparents.

 

Francis and I. In a train station, of course.
Posted in Blog