Internets!

Only $1300?! I’d be crazy not to buy this!

As the above advertisement shows, computer technology has certainly come a long way. This Apple commercial reminds me of my first experiences with computer technology and the internet. I was around the age of 9 or 10, and one school-day afternoon, all us fresh-faced youngsters were herded into the computer lab. This was in the year 1993, and although we used computers before, everything we did previous to this day consisted of offline activities. (As a side note, I also recall the first computers I ever used had this strange track ball in the top right hand corner to move the arrow around the screen, instead of a mouse… I remember it was annoying.. even for my 6 year old brain)

 

Damn you track ball keyboard!

So, in the computer lab, we we told of this wonderful application called “e-mail”, and after a few basic lessons, we were given the opportunity to send an e-mail to each other. Afterward, we were given a few e-mail addresses of scientists, teachers and other academics, and we were encouraged to ask any school-related question (I think mine was “How do plants breathe? ” … I was not a sharp child). My first experience with the World Wide Web was purely academic. I was taught that the internet was a tool, used to further our understanding and to broaden our horizons. This was a very common idea, as illustrated by this vintage CBC piece:

Hmmm… I wonder if “Internet” will catch on?

I thought that it was neat that I could communicate with people all over the world so easily. But, the internet was not entertaining. Not by a long shot. In some sense, I perceived the internet as a novelty. It was fun to find pictures of wildlife, and it was fun to e-mail “Hey, how’s it going?” to by buddy Sebastien who was only a few seats away from me. But, in all brutal honesty, I never saw it as amazing or breathtaking. I liked it just fine, but I wasn’t instantly captivated by it. But I did like going to computer lab… probably because it was something new and futuristic.

As the above video shows, the internet was “sold to society” as a tool, something to enhance your life, provoke understanding and accelerate our children’s education. However, it wasn’t until I was a few years older, and we had a computer on our own, that I started to equate the “internet” as “entertainment”. I recall playing interactive games over the world wide web. Shortly after, I recall logging into some chat rooms and talking to people there. It was these actions a few years after my initial introduction to the internet that really made me interested in this new medium. No longer was it seen as a helpful, sometimes neat, “tool”. Rather, it was something that could easily hold my attention, because of the entertainment and interactivity it provided.

In my earlier years, I also recall how everyone was very optimistic about the internet. I certainly do not recall any negative criticisms, hesitance or resistance to being online. Perhaps it is because I am older now, or perhaps Western Society was over-optimistic about the internet, but times have certainly changed. The best example of constructive, thought provoking criticism are arguments presented by Mr. Neil Postman (Thanks to roro12, who introduced me to Mr. Postman on his blog “Never leave a Crasher Behind“)

To end on a humorous note: It appears some individuals, such as Senator Ted Stevens, are still a bit confused about this new thing called the “Internet”.

 

 

 

 

An explanation

It’s not uncommon to find strange titles in Blogs. Many reflect creativity, symbolic meaning or simply wish to be obscure and bizarre for the sake of being…. obscure and bizarre.

I am blessed (or cursed, depending on your perspective) in having a Drama Major for a roommate. And, since Drama Majors are known for their crazy stories, she told me one:

If you enter a elementary classroom, where the children are 5-10 years old, and ask “Who wants to be an emu on fire!?” They are immediately up from their seats, with no coaxing whatsoever. Soon, they’re flailing around, making strange squawking noises, pretending to be the large birds in flames. It’s quite the sight to see.

However, if you enter a junior/senior high school class, where the children are 12-17 years old, and ask the same question: “Who wants to be an emu of fire!?” They shrug their shoulders indifferently, scowl, or look at you like you have gone completely insane (which is s strong possibility).

Children have a uncanny ability of not caring what people think or say, and only wanting to do something fun, and express themselves to the world. In a period of a few years, most people grow up, and leave behind carefree imagination and become more inhibited.

However, the “information super highway”, the internet, cyberspace (pick your descriptor) can reverse this effect. In a new, symbolic world on on-line handles, anonymity, and the blank canvas of a web page yet-to-be-made, people (to some degree) become less inhibited. Perhaps this is due to a new identity created, perhaps it is due to protecting our “real identities”.

Regardless of the reasons behind it, cyberspace, like anything else involving human interaction, is a double edged sword. In a world which embraces boisterous expression and rejects culpability, people are capable of brilliant, funny, insightful and entertaining acts . On the other hand, some very destructive, confusing, anti-social and (if I may be so blunt) hatefully perverse resources seem to share the same limelight.

This blog will attempt to reflect a small section of cyberculture, offering optimistic celebrations of humanity and pessimistic consequences of this new medium. It will explore the bright and dark side of imagination.