Understanding Internet aesthetic is the very first step to learn on web design. Internet is different from other medium, such as TV or prints, amateurs are generally not marginalized, they can also be listened, everyone can produce contents and make influence on internet. People can use their own ways to mulnipulate and edit elements that they find on internet. This has led plenty of contents off standard aesthetics. Although this 'trollpunk' meme culture by amateurs has made a huge aesthetic contrast from the delicate, photoshoped, well designed online elements that are made by professionals, these memetics tell stories efficiently. Personally, I see there is no standardized aesthetics, but what makes most sense for viewers to read in terms of legibility and understandability. To produce informative, good website, we will have to ensure the quality of our content first, design the style that works with the content best rather than follow the 'standardized' aesthetics.
For the second reading, "Rich User Experience, UX and Desktopization of War" , I think by "automagic", the author meant we started to teach computer understand what viewers' expectations are like, what they want to see next. We, as web developer, we anticipate viewers' expectation, vision, and move, to make the website responsive and easy to use. By 'rich experience', it means more about less experience or experience less. It is very interesting how he compare HCI with UX, computer with technology, interface with experience and users with people. This brings UX to a new level on interaction and relationship between computers and humans. This intimacy is where they can interact in a same space, work as one, live as one.