My sister sent me this great piece by Clifford Stoll, written in February 1995.
http://www.newsweek.com/1995/02/26/the-internet-b…
This article is littered with tons of examples of unintentional comedic gold.
Yet Nicholas Negroponte, director of the MIT Media Lab, predicts that we'll soon buy books and newspapers straight over the Intenet. Uh, sure.
Some good quotes:
Try reading a book on disc. At best, it's an unpleasant chore: the myopic glow of a clunky computer replaces the friendly pages of a book.Kindle
Won't the Internet be useful in governing? Internet addicts clamor for government reports. But when Andy Spano ran for county executive in Westchester County, N.Y., he put every press release and position paper onto a bulletin board. In that affluent county, with plenty of computer companies, how many voters logged in? Fewer than 30. Not a good omen.Obama = Facebook = win presidency
The Usenet, a worldwide bulletin board, allows anyone to post messages across the nation. Your word gets out, leapfrogging editors and publishers. Every voice can be heard cheaply and instantly. The result? Every voice is heard. The cacophany more closely resembles citizens band radio, complete with handles, harrasment, and anonymous threats.Did he mean to say WSO and not Usenet?
While I first wanted to give Stoll a break since this was 1995, I couldn't bring myself to it. He looks backward to find faults instead of seeking opportunities to improve the user experience. The guy claimed we need the salesperson at Best Buy (no offense to those who work there) to reinforce our confidence in selecting the right Xbox game. Most of the article follows this narrow-minded approach, but he also brings up the idea of journalistic integrity. When Twitter began getting hot, people claimed that journalists were no longer subject to the strict ethical codes enforced by editors. What happens every time this argument comes to light? Technology innovates and people adapt to the new outlet. It's amazing how far we have come in 15 years.
Thoughts? Disagreements? Predictions? Technology jokes?
