The early Internet was a text-only technology. Users would send e-mail, join in live chats, or participate in asynchronous discussions on bulletin boards. Users spurred Utopian visions because it was the first time we could spread ideas globally. Working through wires and computers, the internet was a community as well as a living cultural experiment. At first, the internet was not at all about information but about relationships. We were not interacting with data, but with one another. For example, if a philosopher posed a new idea, he would be forced to defend it. Also, everyone had an equal opportunity to voice their opinions online.
The trick at this point was to figure out how we turn this communications nightmare into controllable mass medium? We needed to replace communication with information. By 1980 we were on the cusp of the Information Age. And now that information was traveling all over the World Wide Web we needed to make sure that this information being shared was factual.
The current direction of Internet technology promises a further interactive abilities. Our internet is getting so fast it is turning into TV-like Internet.
No comments:
Post a Comment