Oh my god, that was hilarious. Part-way in I started scrolling around to spot indications that it was a satirical piece, because it plays just like someone were feigning absurd naivete. Hindsight is 20/20 of course, but obviously the flaw in the article is that the author doesn't imagine the internet will ever improve! That it will remain the enormous heap of data he complained of.
Incidentally, just to amuse myself, I checked: Battle of Trafalgar, October 21, 1805. Took me exactly six seconds. Nyahaha.
Oh, and "Sure, kids love videogames--but think of your own experience: can you recall even one educational filmstrip of decades past?" Schoolhouse fucking Rock, bitch. XD
I don't think hindsight is the only reason I find the line "What's missing from this electronic wonderland? Human contact. Discount the fawning techno-burble about virtual communities. Computers and networks isolate us from one another. absurd, though. When this article was being written, I knew the value of the internet for bringing people together. I loved then as I love now its power to wipe away the random accident of geography and forge a new landscape in which proximity is dictated wholly by like-mindedness. Hell, I have more friends in foreign countries than I have in my neighbourhood. It's no wonder the internet is now the definition of community.
Thanks so much for posting this! This is a keeper. I expect it will only become more hilarious with age, and it really lends perspective to how wonderfully far we've come. :)
Oh, wow. I hadn't seen the comments section. Just as I get smug about where we as a society are thanks to the internet... I'm reminded of why the internet is also one of the most infuriating places on earth as well; anywhere the brilliant, the elite, the wise, and the empathetic can go... so can the ten zillion goddamn noob morons who don't bother to read the details before spewing their opinions. Okay, took me down a peg, but the net still rocks. ;)
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Date: 2008-03-23 08:49 pm (UTC)Incidentally, just to amuse myself, I checked: Battle of Trafalgar, October 21, 1805. Took me exactly six seconds. Nyahaha.
Oh, and "Sure, kids love videogames--but think of your own experience: can you recall even one educational filmstrip of decades past?" Schoolhouse fucking Rock, bitch. XD
I don't think hindsight is the only reason I find the line "What's missing from this electronic wonderland? Human contact. Discount the fawning techno-burble about virtual communities. Computers and networks isolate us from one another. absurd, though. When this article was being written, I knew the value of the internet for bringing people together. I loved then as I love now its power to wipe away the random accident of geography and forge a new landscape in which proximity is dictated wholly by like-mindedness. Hell, I have more friends in foreign countries than I have in my neighbourhood. It's no wonder the internet is now the definition of community.
Thanks so much for posting this! This is a keeper. I expect it will only become more hilarious with age, and it really lends perspective to how wonderfully far we've come. :)
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Date: 2008-03-23 09:01 pm (UTC)GIGGLE
Date: 2008-03-24 11:46 am (UTC)C