Let’s set the scene: it’s sometime around 2010, give or take. Catholic elementary school, computer class. The teacher has various office humor-style decorations scattered about. Ya know, like the red Staples “that was easy” button, ironic bobble-heads, you get it. In the mix of “working hard or hardly working” decor, there are figures of a little pink cat and green rabbit with huge, cartoonish eyes. When pressed, these creatures, named Hoops and Yoyo, would scream in high voices and crack ridiculous jokes. But it wasn’t the first time seeing them– I actually knew them from the eCards my dad would send (back when that was a thing people did regularly). And for some unknown reason, I was absolutely obsessed with them.

Despite my limited internet access at the time, I was able to get to their website with no issue as they were safely owned by Hallmark. Let me tell you, that website was a fascination of mine for a number of years. I would check in regularly for updates– there were these animated shorts series that would come out once in a while, as well as a blog and seasonal homepage videos. Eventually they became popular enough that they even released albums with Parry Gripp and had two televised CBS holiday episodes. Recently, though, I was reminded of them (as, apparently, a lot of people have in the last half year or so?) and thought to take a walk down memory lane. To my surprise, they no longer exist! From what I could tell, Hallmark not only produces minimal products with them now, but they also wiped their presence off the internet. When I looked into it, Bob Holt, one of their co-creators, was fired from Hallmark in 2015 with no real reason given. It seems like there was a number of layoffs at that time and Hoops and Yoyo “did not fit into the ‘humor’ that Hallmark wanted.”

Given both the popularity of lost media and how many people loved these little guys, there are a number of sites documenting their content. I recently went through and found bits on the Wayback Machine as well as few fan archives. Despite everything there, there is still a LOT missing, and of course, it lacks the old feelings of what it was like to check in and hope there’s something new posted. It’s strange to see screenshots of something you’ve watched but now only exists in memories. I hope Hallmark has that work saved somewhere, but for now it seems like we are relying on people willing to upload files they’ve personally saved.

But there’s a new nostalgia that comes from them now, too. Where before my feelings came just from the clips themselves, now I also long for how things just moved slower even two decades ago. I don’t want to make it sound like I want to go back to that time; I want progress, don’t get me wrong. But, even looking at clips of politicians talking then versus now gives me whiplash. In a way, I kinda feel like the digital space we have now is merged with real life in a way that seems really, really unhealthy for us at a worldwide level. To put this into a better example: I am still able to try a recipe out of a magazine. It is still literally possible. The issue is that the act of doing so is more costly and poorer quality than it was before. The internet provides unmatched options, limiting other forms of media and pop culture, yet it also introduces us to a cesspool of trash. Tell me why I found fake AI-generated recipes on Pinterest? Why, in what world, should that be a normal thing?

I don’t have images here for you, but you could send in pictures, like Hoops and Yoyo themed birthday cakes or the dolls posed somewhere you were traveling, in hopes of making it onto their blog. Why would you want to do that? The same reason why you might write in to a newspaper or magazine: it was fun to contribute and in some cases helped get you exposure. The internet, in a way, provided little wins and earned excitements instead of the dopamine rushes, instant gratification, and possibility of monetary gain we’ve come to expect. There were also just smaller ratios/numbers of people online and their “hubs” for specific topics. Now, you have to have such a niche topic to make it high in search engine results, and still you won’t be above those that pay for SEO or better placement.

Even sending an email was much closer to sending a letter than whatever social media and texting has become. I’ve genuinely had issues with anxiety because of how much it invades my daily life. I used to design birthday party invitations on what I believe was an old, pirated copy of Hallmark Card Studio for my dad to print in color with his work printer. Those cards would get mailed out and family would leave a message on our voicemail to say they’re coming. Maybe a few days after the party I would buy or design thank you cards, add a personal message, and send those out. Now, it’s all with texting. Everything happens immediately, and the expected response time is so much quicker than before. I truly cannot keep up, but I also know that being offline means essentially becoming a full recluse. I think that’s why I enjoy blog-style posting, where I have more choice in how I want to be perceived.

But beyond wishing for an ideal life and missing how much easier the internet flowed, I also feel concern for so much of our lives being online and digital. They say to be careful, that what you post online will be there forever. And that’s true, your past never really leaves you. But we also take for granted that at any point, things can be deleted or shut down, and if nobody archived it, it simply could be gone. There’s a balance we should achieve between being digital and analog, and in both cases, we should do our due diligence in preserving media that is important to us.

This is my call to action for you: If there’s a recipe or tutorial you really like from the Internet, consider printing it and adding it to a physical binder. And maybe if there’s a political-themed mural you pass by often, consider adding a photo of it to an appropriate digital space. Occasionally save important webpages to the Internet Archive/Wayback Machine when you remember. And if all your photos are on your phone or posted on social media, make sure they’re backed up somewhere else. On top of that, we are facing a time where companies are now forcing subscription-based models over ownership, so if you have the option, download/print the PDF, save your files locally, buy secondhand, and own physical instead of digital copies of books and movies you wish to revisit. I’d even argue putting downloaded files of books, movies, and music on CDs, flash drives, or personal digital drives if you don’t have the physical space for things.

None of this is written to be alarmist. Instead, this is meant to show you how the internet and digital landscape is rapidly changing, and we are losing the things we find nostalgic. Just take my desire (and inability) to revisit a childhood interest as a reminder to save the content you hold close.

Happy reading,
-Beppa