Imagining the Internet

Janna Quitney Anderson

doi:10.5771/9780742568662

Summary

In the early 1990s, people predicted the death of privacy, an end to the current concept of 'property,' a paperless society, 500 channels of high-definition interactive television, world peace, and the extinction of the human race after a takeover engineered by intelligent machines. Imagining the Internet zeroes in on predictions about the Internet's future and revisits past predictions—and how they turned out—to put that imagined future in perspective. Interlaced with revealing analysis, this compendium of thoughts from stakeholders and skeptics, from George Orwell, Marshall McLuhan, and Isaac Asimov to Bill Gates, Bruce Sterling, Nicholas Negroponte, Al Gore, and many others, combines history and biography with future visions and a look at the social, political, and economic consequences of new communication technology. It also gives the history of communications in a nutshell, illustrating the serious impact of pervasive networks and how they will change our lives over the next century. Visit www.elon.edu/predictions/ to view a comprehensive database that forms the investigative basis for this book.

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2005
ISBN-Print: 978-0-7425-3937-2
ISBN-Online: 978-0-7425-6866-2
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 307
Product type: Book Titles

1. Contents No access
2. Foreword No access
Introduction Why it is important for you to understand networks and their influence in history and your life No access Pages 1 - 3
1 The Internet at the Forefront 1990 through 1995 were revolutionary, with changes surpassing any previous stretch of communications history No access Pages 4 - 14
2 From Bonfires and Bongos to the Web People crave and benefit from connections, spurring communications networks to evolve No access Pages 15 - 44
3 Web GemsSocial, political, and economic expectations inspired intriguing statements about the Internet No access Pages 45 - 72
4 The "Highway" Metaphor Finding a way to tell (and sell) how the Internet could bechanging lives No access Pages 73 - 86
5 Knocking the Net Some warn the Internetis naughty, anti-nature, and nefarious; evensupporters see negatives No access Pages 87 - 103
6 Saddam, O.J., and the Unabomber Internet developments are tied to the news events and popular culture of the 1990s No access Pages 104 - 121
7 Nothing Is Certain but Death and Taxes (And somepredictions-including the death of taxes-may have been premature, while many other"deaths" may come to pass) No access Pages 122 - 138
8 Aristotle, Jefferson, Marx, and McLuhan Predictors usehistoric perspective to maketheirpointson issues No access Pages 139 - 159
9 Supporters Crow About "500 Channelsl" Everyone Warns About "lnfoglut" A breathless bromide abouta video wonderland is bandied about, while information overload looms larger than ever No access Pages 160 - 173
10 Voices of the Net Zoomingin on ten of the thousands of people who made a difference by addressing future concerns No access Pages 174 - 196
11 The Threat to Freedom, to the Earth As communications networks become all-seeing, somethinkers/theorists expect Big Brother ora robot takeover No access Pages 197 - 214
12 The Future of Networks Theglobal mind doesn't need humans, but they may beable to useit if they'd like No access Pages 215 - 226
13 Nobody Knows You're a Dog Or do they? Privacy issues on the Internet No access Pages 227 - 239
14 Hmmm ... Will It Happen? These predictions did not come true; nordo they seem likely to come to pass; then again, you never know No access Pages 240 - 252
Appendix A: Wired Inspired The incredible influence of a pulp-based product No access Pages 253 - 262
Appendix B: Recording the Data Compiling the Internet predictions found in this book No access Pages 263 - 268
Suggested Readings Readings for more on the history of the Internet No access Pages 269 - 279
Bibliography No access Pages 280 - 290
Index No access Pages 291 - 306
About the Author No access Pages 307 - 307