The Story of the Internet

OK, just a quick note here, to say that this video is really well done, and I like the way it shows how a number of different developments in different kinds of technologies, in different nations, and at different times, all came together to form the internet. Really impressive work!



Of course, taking a big picture perspective, we might say that the bias of electric technologies has been towards greater convergence of technologies and services--this is a point McLuhan made decades ago, and Mumford before him. It's not that the internet was inevitable, there are many different ways that things could have worked out. The evolution has been dynamic and fluid, and chaotic, like a stream, but like a stream, it has followed a certain, unmistakable direction.

Digital Nation

In my documentary class we came across an interesting program on PBS. For their Frontline series there are a couple of documentarians and media analysts who are creating an interactive documentary called Digital Nation about our nation's dependency on the internet and other forms of media. The project explores how technology affects our daily lives. It stems from a documentary aired on PBS in 2008 called Growing Up. It followed teenagers and their interactions with the media. I thought that this project goes really well with a lot of the topics we've covered in class so far. 

I highly suggest checking out the PBS Frontline Digital Nation website and watching the videos. 

Eight - Eleven

Even though I've learned about the origins of the Internet, it was only after the reading for this week that I learned about it in detail. It was interesting to see how ARPAnet and USENET both came about around the same time; what their purpose was and how it eventually became a place for public discussion. A few researchers came together to work on a project for the Department of Defense, the project being ARPAnet. The scientists that were excluded in the ARPAnet project did their own research to create a similar computer network and created USENET. As explained in the text, cyberspace expand as information grows - and has no natural limits. The reading also focused on the Information Superhighway, the name was very popular in 1995. Chapter 9 elaborated on the government's vision for the internet. The Information Infrastructure Task Force Report in 1993 stated:

People could live almost anywhere they wanted, without foregoing opportunities for useful and fulfilling employment, by "telecommuting" to their offices through the electronic highway: The best schools, teachers, and courses would be available to all students, without regard to geography, distances, resources or disability.

However, with all plans there were many questions --> what it would be like? how will people navigate through and socially interact with others? We can start to see some the answers today.
Moreover, the reading mentioned the digital divide and the risks related to the internet. The digital divide section addressed the issues and concerns with making internet available for all, while also mentioning the various channels of communication the internet opened up. The risk chapter talked about children and how to regulate something like the internet. The rating system, RSACi desgined by Donald F. Roberts a communication professor at Standford, was intended to rate video games, but in 1999 more than 100,000 websites were using this standard. As explained in Chapter 11, the web is a medium in its infancy. Just like there were concerns when other forms of media were introduced to the public, people were concerned when the internet started gaining popularity. Nevertheless, parents conrol and set limits on what their children do, and many of them use filtering software to regulate what websites their children can and cannot access.

"Web 2.0" Is Constantly Under Revision

One morning, I've come across a clip on channel NY1 news about Twitter with an awards ceremony involved. NY1 News added how Twitter has expanded and how popular it has become. So I've decided to look up if they might have an article about it on the NY1 website. Upon putting "Twitter" into the search engine I can across the following interesting article especially for our class:


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"09/18/2008 12:43 PM

"Web 2.0" Is Constantly Under Revision
By: Adam Balkin

"Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, Twitter, these are typically the types of sites that one thinks of when they hear the phrase "Web 2.0." Though, as you'll find at the first annual Web 2.0 Expo in N.Y., the official definition for what is “Web 2.0,” it is constantly under revision. NY1’s Adam Balkin filed the following report.

“Basically, you're talking about sites that instead of publishing your stuff to the web, invite people to participate in the web. We've got about 5,000 developers, designers, internet entrepreneurs, marketers who come together to figure out what's next for ‘Web 2.0,’” said organizer of Web 2.0 Expo Jennifer Pahlka. “It's the people who are building sites like MySpace and Facebook who are mostly here.”

Friendster.com, the social networking site that helped started this whole “2.0 movement” is also constantly under revision. Its vision now, help to prevent you from having to jump from one place to the next, having to constantly start from scratch on the latest hottest spot online to connect with friends.

“It's going to be more convenient to keep in touch with people to share content, to discover content from other people you may know, and to kind of participate in multiple networks at once without physically being logged in to every single one, every minute of the day,” said Jeff Robert of Friendster.com.

But really what this conference focuses on is taking what people like about using “Web 2.0” technologies on their own time and letting them use those same technologies to be more productive at the office.

“We're seeing companies coming to us to build a social networking strategy within their internal networks that make these young people feel comfortable with their usability and with their executions and actions everyday,” said Jerry Sheer of Sparta Social Networks. “Social networking, in a large company, specifically, is about people connecting to other people who are not in their cube, in their work environment, and in a satellite office.”

And considering a new study by Hitwise, an Internet tracking company, found that social networks have surpassed porn, as the most popular spots online now, it makes sense that big companies are also hoping internal social networks will help employees feel more like part of a community while at the office, rather than just another cog in a giant wheel."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As a student of CBA graduating class of 2009, I found it very interesting that large companies are now inquiring about social networks within the company. I see that as a very bright idea. The employees will no longer be limited to sharing insights with those within proximity of their cubicle.Ideas and possibly innovations will start to surface as employees converse and share ideas with each other, which will ultimately benefit the company. I see this as completely beneficial and I think it should be started as soon as possible. Personally, being a member of Twitter and LinkdIn, I spend a lot of time looking of individuals who have similar professional backgrounds to converse with. I can just imagine what a large company that sets up a network for professionals in the same field to collaborate!

"In this reality, to which every computer is a window...."

Communication, to me, is a form of survival. We, as humans, must be able to exchange thoughts and ideas in order to progress as people. Nowadays, we use cyberspace more frequently to communicate with others outside of our social network, but it was not until the mid-19th century that we could communicate instantaneously with the use of the telegraph. As time passes, we keep evolving; new ideas arise, people change, and our forms of communications are becoming more and more advanced (I only wish I was able to know what our next step would be towards enhancing communication that much further), but for now we have our beloved "cyberspace". I take the internet for granted to be honest. I am so used to being able to connect with one of my peers at the drop of a hat that I did not realize the actual steps that were taken in order to get where we are now! (I believe this excerpt from the reading talks about life from and after the mid-19th century) :

"Telecommunications continued to evolve and grow with the development of the telephone, radio, and television, and innovations such as cable television, satellite communications, and fax machines".

As we evolved as people, so did our meanings of the term "cyberspace". The term evolved due to it's growing popularity starting with the term's originator, William Gibson (1984). His idea of cyberspace was used in a much more science-fiction novel sense while others began to take the term seriously, including Michael Benedikt in 1991. Benedikt described cyberspace like a global network of information. After reading this, I believed his idea's were really ahead of his time. Yes, I read that his concept remains unrealized and unreal, but that isn't my point. The point is that without communication, these two people would have never even heard of each other, nor would have come up with such a concept, or any concept for that matter.

Okay, Okay! I know you guys are probably getting sick of reading the facts, but this is what I really enjoyed about the reading. I love learning about the past and how we got to where we are today. These two people (Gibson and Benedikt) were really the first to give cyberspace any meaning, and that is what I found to be the most interesting part.

In conclusion, if we don't know or understand our past then we will never be able to predict what the future may hold.

Media Usage

The internet is an endless source of information and resources. My daily usage of the internet consists of checking email, at least several times a day, checking facebook, and mostly doing some type of research. Three out of my five closest friends currently live outside of New York, one of them is just several hours away by car, while the other is overseas. Checking email frequently allows us to have conversations and communicate with each other on a regular basis. Even though it may be difficult for us to talk on the phone because of time differences, and schedule conflicts - emailing each other regularly makes us feel that in one way or another everyone is quite close. Also, I help come up with different projects for local youth groups, so many a times I spend my time doing research --> looking at other organizations and figuring out how they do what they do, looking for team building activities, and other useful information for youth group leaders. Throughout the day I tend to check the New York Times website regularly to get my daily dose of news. Additionally, I use the internet to instant message friends, check bank statements, and buy books.

Getting Out Your Dreams on the Internet

The internet, as of late, has really become a way for artists, comedians, and actors (etc.) to break out into their industries. Websites like Myspace, Youtube, and Facebook are all social networks that help these aspiring artists gain a fan base and spread the word about their work. These websites are not only for the artists trying to get out their dreams though; they are meant for everyone and anyone who wants to have their voice heard. Some of these people actually obtain a substantial following from their blogging or vlogging done over the internet. These people have come to be known as "internet celebrities". I found this interesting article on them if you'd like to check it out : Internet Celebrity phenomenon!

This is my favorite quote from the article: "Fame is no longer about getting "15 minutes"; it's about becoming famous to 15 people."

Here's another link to some of the most popular people, videos/films, and sites that became huge because of the internet: List of internet celebrities!