>>110172564The thing about internet at that time was that animation was the only way to deliver video content to people because of bandwidth restraints. Youtube wasn't a thing, and the only major video site was Newgrounds, which was littered with pornography and toilet humor that lowered its mass appeal.
It was also in the time of the webcomics, where people managed their own websites and then personally curated and recommended their favorite comics. The web economy was stronger, because people were paying to move traffic back and forth between sites instead of relying on massive web platforms to host and advertise everything.
Once the internet shrank down and a handful of companies owned everything, it was the death of quality online entertainment. You weren't working for yourself anymore - you now Google, or Amazon, or Facebook, and these companies have rules about the kind of content they want to see. Not smart rules like, "Don't draw Spiderman pissing in Else's mouth", but frustrating corporate rules like, "post at least three new videos per week", which you just can't work with if you're serious about making a good product.
There was some other products that came out before the online market closed up. Plenty of things looked promising, but many of them rose in the era of Youtube, and then vanished as Youtube cut them off. Meanwhile, personal websites have dropped off like flies.
The markets changed, basically, and the business model has become less about sustaining independent creation and more about funneling ad revenue towards your host platform.
