"How could the US authorities successfully communicate after a nuclear war?" (Sterling, 1993)
What a fundamental question! With a hopeful and innovative idea to answer it. The Internet!
Understanding a brief history of the Internet has shown me that it not just about connecting and re-connecting your DSL cables when google.com does not load, it's also about the major cables that connect us to the rest of the world. The cables that allow us to stay informed with world news and the packet data that is broken down then reassembled to reveal a message. I can only begin to imagine what it was like for people just learning about ARPANET in the 60's and 70's, and what it must of felt for them to finally keep in contact with people in other parts of the world.
What was interesting to learn in Sterling's article was that fan fiction started out this way and as we step into Web 2.0 we can see that fan sites and science fiction still finds its way through to the web. Just like Star Wars has found a home in many people's lives...
Yes, it's hard to imagine delivering a message by horse, or heaven forbid, by foot! Walking is for exercise not for any practical purpose ha!
ReplyDeletei always blame the cables in my house for the fail of my internet, its funny how it is actually on such a grander scale than we can all imagine.
ReplyDeleteLoved the way you approached this weeks topic! It is crazy to think how large the scale is for error when your internet fails.
ReplyDeleteNice that you picked up the rise of fanfic from the Sterling reading.
ReplyDeleteIt started at usenet, and now we have this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfkDxF2kn1I
Its unimaginable to think living life without the internet and that I actually once did! But I do admit I do like receiving mail the old fashion way through the post (except for bills)!
ReplyDeleteThis also plays into the idea of our society fragmenting ideologically: people don’t have to interact with others who have differing viewpoints, because they can find like-minded people virtually. On the positive side, people who once felt isolated in their “real life” community can now find solace online by connecting with others like them.
ReplyDeleteIt's incredible to think that broadband has only became a common thing in the last 8 years or so. I still remember my parents yelling for me to get off the internet because they had to make a call. And waiting for a page to load took forever! Now this in unimaginable.
ReplyDeleteI love what Annie said about the idea of our society fragmenting ideologically. It's very true. Although technology and globalisation have brought people that much closer, it allows people to disconnect with people they do not have anything in common with. This might not have been possible in the past when social contact was limited to connecting with people in their physical presence.