Ancient Web: Greenspun's 1996 Materialism Essay Became a Shopping Library

Part of the Ancient Web Collection.

Philip Greenspun says his descent into American consumerism started when a Starbucks opened on Main Street in Melrose, Massachusetts. In his telling, that was the final signal that his quieter neighborhood was changing. He responded by moving closer to Cambridge and writing a personal encyclopedia of things to buy.

Read How I Became a Scum-Sucking Yuppie Materialist.

The introduction names July 1996 as the moment he noticed the new coffee shop while recovering from surgery. He describes living in a family house with his grandfather, surrounded by independent stores, including a hardware business founded by his great-grandfather.

Greenspun contrasts those smaller institutions with fashionable urban retailing, then adopts the voice of someone who might as well join the new consumer world. The title is deliberately satirical. The site's introduction should be read as a personal essay, not a rigorous economic history of Melrose.

The old shopping guide that grew without a category plan

From that opening, the Materialism index branches into investments, early retirement, housing, audio equipment, cars, bicycles, home music systems, and communications technology.

Some headings are wonderfully specific: a guide to quiet bathroom fans, choosing kitchen equipment, aquarium habitats, evaluating a 1990s Acura NSX, and comparisons of early Internet phone services such as Lingo, Packet8, and Vonage.

Other sections belong to later years. The index mentions a Honda Odyssey bought in 2011 and reviews modern aircraft and home electronics. The domain retained old sections while adding newer interests, so it would be inaccurate to present every linked article as something written in 1996.

The page is also unusually honest about its obsessions. Greenspun jokes about the United States' talent for retail distribution and for building houses large enough to store all the resulting possessions. Much of the attraction lies in the contrast between his technical seriousness and his self-mocking consumer voice.

Old product recommendations should not be used as present-day buying advice. Prices, technical standards, availability, and the author's own opinions all change. What remains is a personal history of buying and evaluating objects during the transition from brick-and-mortar commerce to an increasingly connected world.

An advertisement tells you why you should want one item. This sprawling archive tells you why an enthusiast became interested in dozens of them.

Browse the original Materialism essay and its linked subject guides.

Part of the Ancient Web Collection.