The Western subcultures of the 20th century, the Punks, the Hippies etc, co-existed in stark contrast to mainstream homogeneous society. These subcultures, typically characterised by defiant forms of self expression, often challenged the status quo aesthetically, philosophically and politically.  Many important factors contributed to this but notably, their origins were almost entirely location based and the forms of expression that subsequently sprung out of them, were nurtured in isolated networks.  A feedback loop, air-gapped from normal society in which participation required effort to overcome a scarcity of access. In contrast, cultural niches in the internet age so far seem predominantly nostalgic.  More original niches hide in the sheer volume of content uploaded daily to the digital commons, but the barrier to entry has fallen precipitously. They form along non geographic lines. They often hide in plain sight, communicating through esoteric increasingly self referential memes. To participate you may have to decipher a seemingly nonsensical language, but you can, to a certain degree, and for better or for worse, literally participate in your underwear

In 2050 a साधु (Sadhu) enters the ~~Ωmniverse~~ to begin his practice and contemplate ब्रह्म (Brahman) in a disembodied digital state known as meta-मोक्ष (mokṣa).  He reaches to his left temple and switches on the well-worn headset, waiting as the older model completes it's boot up sequence.

Happy Lunar New Year if you are reading this on the day. In 2021 as most of the world was living in the Year of the Ox, the Year of the 0x was unfolding in the ~~Meta~~verse.  

Happy Lunar New Year if you are reading this on the day. Is it just me or did the previous year seem to exist as 2 parallel realities? As most of the world was living in the Year of the Ox, the Year of the 0x was unfolding in the ~~Meta~~verse.