Shoelaces, Rabbits, and More Niche Sites

In the UK, and across much of Europe, we have spent the last week in a heatwave. Some of the hottest weather ever recorded in June in the UK. It’s been draining, so I’ve basically spent as much time as possible hiding from the sun. I’ve always preferred the cold so this has not been the best time for me, thankfully this week has been a bit cooler.

As such, I haven’t been doing as much creatively as I normally would. My brain feels like it’s turned to mush, so I’ve managed to watch some movies and read a few books, but actual creative thought has been hard to come by.

I was also challenged by my son to use social media less, and I’ve been trying to do that. Specifically, he said to “stop using our phones so much” and made it a competition between my wife and me. We used the Screen Time features on our phones to compare our use. We ignored communication apps (phone and messaging), so it mostly counted social media and games.

I won, but it also made me realise how much of my creative discovery happens through endless feeds. I rarely post much myself, but I do spend a lot of time browsing links, ideas, and interesting projects. It can be genuinely useful, but it’s also very easy to slip into passive scrolling instead of making things yourself. I think that’s the balance I need to work on.

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Ian’s Shoelace Site and the Disappearance of Niche Sites

Firstly, the secure knot is a great idea, and I’m surprised this is the first time I’ve seen it. I was in the Scouts as a child and know a lot of different knots, but the standard shoelace knot is what I was always taught. I will definitely be trying this. But more importantly, I found out about this site because of this article on Aftermath.

Aftermath is a site covering video games and the internet, and in the article they talk not only about how to tie shoelaces, but also why sites that hyperfocus on one thing are slowly disappearing from the web. Sites that are passion projects. Quirky little niches. Having used the internet since the mid-90s, I have seen many of these sites. In the early days, it’s all there was. And I really like this sort of thing. It’s what NinjaSparks is all about.

It’s not that niche sites can’t survive, but the internet increasingly rewards scale over personality. Most people don’t really use the wider web any more. They focus on a few social networks and maybe a news site or two. Small sites are still out there, but finding them feels harder than it used to. The routes we used to take, search engines, blogs, forums, have increasingly been replaced by feeds and summaries and chatbots.

Google is slowly killing its search engine, filling it with inaccurate AI and adverts. And now people are turning to AI tools like ChatGPT for answers, which are often useful, but also often wrong, and don’t actually send people back to the original sources. AI didn’t start this trend, but it does speed it up by turning thousands of unique voices into one neat summary.

That’s one of the reasons my websites focus on interactive content. Apps, games, and creative tools can’t easily be replaced by AI, and people still have to visit my site to use them. More than that, they’re my way of contributing to the kind of internet I still want to exist. Small, useful, playful corners of the web.

I’d hate to see those disappear and be replaced by one bland, homogenised feed owned by a handful of massive corporations. Not just because it would be less interesting, but because it puts more power over what we see, read, and create into fewer hands.

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A Rabbit Slipping on Banana Peels

This is a cute Japanese student animation of a rabbit slipping on banana peels. It’s a funny little animation that has a lot of charm and reminds me of the Flash (browser-based) animations that were common 20 years ago. The animation and character designs are very simple, and would be perfectly achievable in Brush Ninja. This is the sort of thing that would be great to make to practise animation skills.

Watch the video

How Animators Created Toy Story 5

This video is a behind-the-scenes look at how the animators created the Toy Story movies, including Toy Story 5. It compares the technical process now with the process that was used in the original film. It’s a great insight into the work that goes into making an animated film, and shows just how much things have changed in the 30-year gap. It’s also a nice reminder that even in a world full of screens, good creative work still takes time, skill, and a lot of human effort.

If you’re interested, then Blender is a great free tool to get started with 3D animation, and there are a lot of free tutorials online to help you get started.

As an aside, if you want a career in animation, then the channel that posted this, ClassCreatives, is a really good place to start. I also recommend the Pixar in a Box course on Khan Academy.

Watch the video

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Sparked Discoveries

Here’s a handful of odd and interesting corners of the web I stumbled across recently:

Animation Hub

I mentioned student animations above, and this website is full of them. Animation Hub is a collection of student animations from around the world. Keep in mind that some of them have mature themes and, despite being animations, may not be suitable for children. But there’s a lot of awesome work here, and it’s a great place to find inspiration or simply enjoy some creative work.

Anthropeum

Anthropeum is a historical game recommended to me by a friend. You are shown a series of historical artefacts from around the world and have to guess where and when they are from. Once you’ve guessed, you are given a bit more information and context about the artefact, which makes it both educational and engaging. You are also given a score based on how accurate your guesses are, and can see how your score compares globally. I’ve only played for a couple of days, but it’s a fun way to learn about history and the world. I’m already improving my knowledge of where countries are.

Play Geography

Speaking of geographic knowledge, this is a good one for learning the locations of countries. The games are simple and run in your browser. You just have to find the requested countries on a map. You can do the whole world or specific continents. There are also games for learning US states, flags (I have a flag game too), capitals, and more. It’s a good way to learn geography in a fun way.

Hostile Volume

This is a fun little game that challenges your computer skills and patience. The goal is simple: set the volume of your computer to a specific level using the widget on the screen. It starts easy, but quickly gets out of hand until you rage quit. Most of the solutions are obvious, but performing them is not!

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Currently…

I saw Toy Story 5 this weekend. I’ve seen all of the Toy Story films in the cinema, so I was looking forward to this one. Plus, the cinema is air-conditioned, which was a welcome relief from the heatwave.

I knew the story was about digital screens (tablets) and the effect they have on children, but not much beyond that. It was a fun adventure, and I really liked the updated Buzz Lightyear toys. I would definitely like one of those.

What surprised me most was how much it tied into my own thoughts this week. I started this newsletter talking about trying to use screens and social media less, and Toy Story 5 ended up circling around some of the same ideas. It doesn’t outright say that screens are bad, but it does show how they can shape habits and relationships, and how learning to play and create for yourself is still important.

Whether it’s kids spending too much time on screens, or all of us relying on feeds and AI summaries, it’s easy to forget the value of exploring, making, and thinking for ourselves.

My son enjoyed it though, which is the main thing.