The internet is famous for two things, weird stuff, and bringing people together. It's especially good when it hits both those pillars at once with positive result. There's just such a wonderful sense of community in watching a million people collectively consult the helix fossil, or if you want to go really old school, watch and turn on a coffee pot. Today's group activity on the world wide webberverse is a simple roadtrip, and I think I might almost feel connected to the world again.
Around 900 people were spotted by 404media, all crammed into one vehicle on the Internet Road Trip. This virtual journey puts you in a shared front seat in an invisible vehicle, making its way through Google Maps streets. A disembodied steering wheel hangs in front of you as the pictures fade from one to another and the mini map in the lower left corner gets closer to its supposed destination.
This steering wheel is also interactive, and lets you vote for which direction you're going to head, or junk honk the horn. See while the Internet Road Trip might put you in the drivers seat, you're really sharing it with the rest of the internet. Votes are tallied to decide which turns will be taken and which paths travelled along the journey.
Your typical passengers are replaced by a chat window which is powered through the Internet Road Trip's Discord. The driving directions channel posts straight to the feed, but there are a few others dedicated to planning trips and devwork. Either way it's a lot more calming than people actually screaming in the car.
At the top right you can see how many other drivers are online with you. It was a little quiet when I logged on due to the Australian timeline, so just under 500 folks were online. Below this are the voting results for directions. Then at the bottom right there's even a radio so you can tune in and take in your local surrounds.
Well this has to be one of the cutest ways to interact online in a while. Not only can you chat to some randoms but you also get to see some likely very unfamiliar countryside along the drive. I just hope we can stop for ice cream soon.
If you're also a fan of these kinds of group internet shenanigans, there are heaps of fun little activities like this you can find. Or maybe you're in need of a webcam to start one yourself. There's just something magical about being able to check in on some cute ferrets on one continent, and then observe a family of nesting falcons on another. Good work internet. More weird group activities, please.
