Communication and Cyberspace chapters 8-9

Chapter 8 offers a brief history of the internet, beginning with the ARPAnet, which was a network solely used for research by military and defense agencies. It also details the "culture clash" between the Department of Defense and the computer scientists in the academic community who helped build the ARPAnet in the first place. The computer scientists believed that this technology should be free and open to all individuals, whereas the defense officials were secretive and rigid and wanted it to themselves. Eventually, the ARPAnet declined because it did not support a free flow of information. Giese writes that, "the turning point in the growth of the Internet was the advent of USENET NEWS in 1979 - a 'poor man's ARPAnet.'" USENET eventually spawned discussion boards, and the Internet continued to grow and develop from there.
Chapter 9, written by Ron L. Jacobson, addresses "Questions Concerning Public Interest in and Access to the Information Superhighway." He writes, "What the Internet is really about is the transformation of information rather than its growth." In other words, the world still has the exact same amount of information contained in it as it did before the advent of New Media; New Media is just making it digital and more accessible. The information isn't changing, it's just going from books to online forms. Other questions that come up pertain to literacy and access, and what social consequences come about from this access to information.

Communications and Cyberspace: Chapters 8 & 9

     It is apparent in Chapter 8 that the web, like most technology, has come a long way since its beginnings. What was once a military communication tool is now an epicenter of information and entertainment accessible to the global public. The first web network was created by the Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in order to ensure national security by maintaining the "military's ability to communicate in the face of destruction". Despite the militaristic nature of the ARPAnet, it was not immune to what is known as "hacker ethic", the free flow of information. Soon the computer scientists associated with creating the ARPAnet began making similar networks that could be accessed by others not within the community of defense agencies and defense contractors. What also contributed to the demilitarization of the Internet was the mushrooming of discussion groups which transformed the Internet into more of a communication medium rather than a tool. Two main facets that led to the expansion of the Internet was the "cultural tenets held by the people who built the network...and the nature of the economic forces that provided the initial funding for APRAnet". Given the collegial culture the network was raised in and the communication aspect, the APRAnet eventually matured into a application used for electronic mail and remote login services. The amplification of its popularity inevitably began to attract private enterprise. Those in the telecommunications industry saw that the Internet had potential for a huge new market.
     In Chapter 9, Jacobson outlines the expectations and concerns about the Internet through the lens of corporations, the government, and the public. The chapter is commenced with a description of the National Information Infrastructure to be, "made up of seamless communications networks, databases, and consumer electronics". The NII is described as being "seamless" or having no boundaries. Because of the somewhat ambiguous and multifaceted nature of the Internet, the author answers the question "In which directions will the much-heralded Information Superhighway go?" in the perspectives of three different interest groups. Corporations advertised this new web technology as our gateway to knowledge with solely positive outcomes. Digital commerce will soon begin to grow when the federal government places policy parameters which industries can work within. The focal point of the Internet is to transform information and knowledge rather than mediate its growth. During its early stages, the Internet was often referred to as the Information Superhighway. However, unlike a highway, the Internet will not be constructed by the government, it will be built by people who stand to profit from them. There is also concern that once corporations monopolize on the Internet, the public will be denied participation.
     In terms of government visions, former Vice President Al Gore envisioned the Internet as a vehicle to bring the economic, health, and educational benefits of this information revolution to more Americans. The Clinton Administration aimed for the NII to be available to all at affordable costs. It was ensured that the NII plan was "flexible, adaptable, and fair in dealing with changing and emerging technologies and their applications" which I think was definitely smart strategy. New Media is never idle or stagnant for it is in a constant state of change. The public is mainly concerned with the digital divide. The division between those who have access to the internet and those who do not which is often based on levels of education and income. This is being resolved by companies who are creating more affordable devices and networks.

Chapters 8-9

     Mark Giese in chapter 8 of Communication and Cyberspace discusses the transformation from the Arpanet to the Internet and how the phrase “Information Superhighway” has transformed as well.  Giese defines the Internet as a network of computer networks.  Although there are much more users in 2012, there were 1.5 million host computers and 21 million users worldwide in the 1990’s.  The 1990’s were time of great growth.  The Internet first coined as the Arpanet (Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) was first used for maintaining communication within the military in case of a nuclear bombing or catastrophic event.  Giese makes a fabulous point about how the rationale behind using the Arpanet was the same reason behind the construction of the Interstate highway system: national security.  A second reason for the growth of the Internet was described as a clash of cultures with the defense establishment and the academic research community.  The Arpanet and the highway system were both intended for the use for elite groups only, not everybody.  The term hacker ethic, the free flow of information, became popular at this point.  Discussion groups made it a popular “tool” instead of for military uses.  The clash of the two cultures was directly responsible for the expansion of the network and changed the world forever.  It was soon noted that the Information superhighway system was not a correct synonym of the Internet.  The uses for the Internet had nothing to do with what the highway systems were about, as discussed in class as well.  Another nickname was the Information infrastructure, which did not last either.  Cyberspace did not start out as its original word either, but was rather called cyber places.  People did not agree that “place” was a good word to use because it was not an actual place they would visit, but rather a space (hence cyberspace).

     Chapter 9 poses the questions concerning public interest in and access to the Information superhighway.  In 1998, the Internet economy generated $300 billion in the U.S alone.  A great definition by Ron Jacobson is that the Internet is “really about the transformation of information and knowledge, rather than its growth.”  Al Gore, Vice President at the time, was the Clinton administrations most avid supporter of the national telecommunications reform making many promises to the people for the year 2000.  The digital divide was a huge concern for many citizens at this time as well.  The digital divide is the gap between the information haves and have-nots.  “One can only hope that the emerging global information infrastructure will lead to environments that offer potential for leveling great socioeconomic inequities and for improving the quality of life for humans.”

Chp. 1 and 4

6/13-strate 1, 4, 10

William Gibson originally coined cyberspace in 1984. It was used as a science fiction scenario where people can directly connect their nervous systems to a global computer, otherwise known as a virtual reality. Furthermore, Rosanne Stone suggests a different view of cyberspace. She said that it could only exist through social interaction with “communal agreement” between all parties. I also agree with Stone that in order for cyberspace to exist, both sides need to be involved. Since cyberspace functions as a substitute for public spaces, it impacts privacy and social interaction. A great example the book provides is the one of computer programmer David Alsberg. After he passed away not only did is family and friends come together in the physical world, but his online friends came together to form an online wake to mourn his passing. This shows the impact cyberspace has on people’s communication and social life. The friendships formed through these mediums seem to be just as valuable as face-to-face relationships. Chapter four as well as class discussion, shows the issues of metaphors in relation to cyberspace. I found it interesting that the book suggests that the “information  super highway” is a negative prediction of the Internet because, it suggests that information may not be free in the future. The metaphor is understood that way, but cyberspace is supposed to be a place where both user and viewer are in agreement and give feedback to one another. As a result this metaphor is not used that often to give people an idea of what cyberspace is actually about. Moreover I found the digital divide discussed in chapter ten to be very interesting. The statistics taken in 2000 said that 304 million people were online. Even though that’s a huge number, it is compared to the 6.1 billion people in the world. As a result, it is important to remember that everyone is not part of this virtual reality known as cyberspace and may never become part of this reality.

Questions of Control

As any new invention the Internet has had many advances through out its’ lifetime. In the beginning the Net was extremely slow and it was very hard to get and maintain a connection, but there have been three new ideas or developments that have changed this. First, Graphic User Interfaces (GUI’s), which were created by Xerox Parc and are now entwined into almost every Personal Computer. Also the advancements of micro chips and there speed has aided the innovation of Graphic User Interfaces. Lastly, the creation and improvement of the Information Superhighway has increased the sufficiency of the bandwidth and has helped with heavy signal loads. Cyberspace has been continually evolving and with that the history of cyberspace is easily forgotten. Those who are working in the Cyber field today is fresh faces and have not experienced past problems that have come about. This may be a problem in the future because of their inability to cope with problems they have never experienced. A huge overbearing concern of many is privacy and how it will be maintained because of the lack of control that is currently on cyberspace. An interesting thought from the reading was that through the Internet advertising companies have switched the way they advertise. It used to be about solving problems or filling the needs of people, but now they have found ways to create needs for products that were never needed before like the iPod. Even though space on the Web seems unlimited many have worries on what that space will be used for and what happens when and if it runs out.