Imagining the internet : personalities, predictions, perspectives / Janna Quitney Anderson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Anderson, Janna Quitney, 1955-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Internet--Social aspects--Forecasting.

Internet.

Internet--Public opinion--History.

Information technology--Social aspects--Forecasting.

Information technology.

Computer networks--Social aspects--Forecasting.

Computer networks.

Forecasting--History--20th Century.

Forecasting.

Physical Description:

319p.

Place of Publication:

Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2005.

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.

Contents:

Introduction

The Internet at the forefront : 1990 through 1995 were revolutionary, with changes surpassing any previous stretch of communications history

From bonfires and bongos to the Web : people crave and benefit from connections, spurring communications networks to evolve

Web gems : social, political, and economic expectations inspired intriguing statements about the Internet

The 'highway' metaphor : finding a way to tell (and sell) how the Internet could be changing lives

Knocking the Net : some warn the Internet is naughty, anti-nature, and nefarious, even supporters see negatives

Saddam, O.J., and the Unabomber : Internet developments are tied to the news events and popular culture of the 1990s

Nothing is certain but death and taxes (and some predictions

including the death of taxes

may have been premature, while many other 'deaths' may come to pass)

Aristotle, Jefferson, Marx, and Mcluhan : predictors use historic perspective to make their points on issues

Supporters crow about "500 channels!" : everyone warns about "infoglut" : a breathless bromide about a video wonderland is bandied about, while information overload looms larger than ever

Voices of the Net : zooming in on ten of the many people who made a difference by voicing concerns

The threat to freedom, to the earth : as communications networks become all-seeing, some thinkers/theorists expect Big Brother or a robot takeover

The future of networks : the global mind doesn't need humans, but they may be able to use it if they'd like

Nobody knows you're a dog, or do they? Privacy issues on the Internet

Hmmm ... will it happen? : these predictions did not come true, nor do they seem likely to come to pass; then again, you never know.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

Online version: Anderson, Janna Quitney, 1955- Imagining the internet.

ISBN:

0-7425-3937-7

0-7425-6866-0