Have spent much time dumping at dump.fm the past few weeks (chat page possibly not work safe). Am now in the Hall of Fame (caution--giant crab; also updated hourly so the fame will be fleeting). Dump.fm is a non-exclusive surf club (anyone can sign up and dump) that has vastly broadened the range and speed of internet consumption/recycling/restating/original-content-making. It's not really described as a surf club (rather, it's a real-time image sharing site) but the design and technology have resulted in a collective style and wisdom and people with talents that might not be appreciated elsewhere, much as was the case with Nasty Nets, et al.
Dialog on the site is sketchy since it's a chat room but discussion was never a strong suit of surf clubs anyway. It has been interesting to watch big names on the Net (net art wise) come to the site, assert a personal style, and then sink or swim in the permanent tidal wave of in-jokes and sensory overload. Some get it into it and adapt their styles to the house and others never come back. Not sure if I have the stamina but am giving it my best shot because it's fun and am learning so much.
Will not single out my favorite dumpers but really like a few who scour the net for small, understated finds that shine when taken out of context or can be made into new artworks: the fruits of old GIF sites, bad webpage graphics, Op Art patterns, scientific diagrams... Also a few artists who make surprising juxtapositions of images, and/or animated, multi-part collages. You can have Bravo-TV and its reality show: I am watching the real art being made in real time on the net.
Was sort of a proto dumper (see examples from 2003 / 2007) so am feeling very at home in this environment and am learning many new tricks from other dumpers.
For the next few posts will be recycling/remaking some of my dumping contributions.
Update: Jesse Patrick Martin and Hypothete have also written about their experiences on dump.fm. More dumpology to be posted soon.
