
Wes Fenlon, the person behind the utterly superb Read Only Memo newsletter, has announced a new initiative he has created alongside Matt Sayer called Warp Point.
"Warp Point is built around simple technologies like RSS with a simple premise: Helping writers connect with people who love to read about games, and with other people who love to write about them," says Fenlon.
"There are no algorithms. No AI summaries. No paid promo slots or accounts meant to keep you on the site. We want you to leave — by browsing through the list of independent bloggers and essayists and newsletter writers and archivists, finding one that interests you, and clicking on it. Hopefully you come back and do that again and again."
Fenlon says the inspiration for Warp Point is the way companies like Google are ruining the internet:
"I've remained mad as hell about Google's poisoning of the internet since last December, when I wrote about the company's attempts to replace the beauty of the link with its AI search results. The only way to make a better internet is to build it ourselves. If Warp Point manages to bring back that experience of discovery, finding your new favorite site buried six links deep, for even a few writers and readers, we'll be happy."
Sayer, the designer and developer behind the new site, adds:
"Since the dot-com boom, we've ceded more and more of the internet to large corporations that have homogenised and commodified what was once a haven of free creativity. With Warp Point, we want to revive the curious spirit of the old internet and celebrate the unique perspectives we as individuals can bring to the table. Where algorithms funnel us into echo chambers, we hope to highlight the voices beyond."
You can browse Warp Point's directory of curated independent video game sites here, and, if you fancy submitting your own, you can do that here.