There was once a time, not so long ago, when the Internet was still yet to be birthed. Many people had a dream. An unrealistic dream, some could say. Some members of our society looked for the pure fantasy which has always been a prevalent wish in the depths of the human Psyche. They believed that maybe, just maybe, all our problems in society could be solved by one thing, the INTERNET. With computers anything could be possible, deliveries would be instant and only a mouse click away. Man and society would be that bit close to what he has always been seeking...Power over his surroundings.
These ideals were exonerated by popular culture via 'space opera'. Stories set in far off futures often are adept at fulfilling the power fantasy that man so wishes for.
But then reality hit. The Internet, and computers are yes, very powerful things. But we do not live in a utopia and the Internet has not entirely lived up to its potential.
Much of lecture 9's focus was on 'Utopia and the Internet'. Originally people believed that things like search engines on the net, would be incredible. To a certain degree they are and we have come along way from the days without computers. What some people didn't count on was how difficult it can be to actually find what you are truly looking for on these search engines. Users spend so much of their time sorting through rubbish which doesn't even relate to what they wanted in the first place, and in general society overestimated what computers were capable of.
The net can be fantastic for the experimenter. A significant amount of money is circulated for the production of various web sites, in order to make a profit. Because of the Internet being a largely unpredictable business sector, many companies find that they are popular one day and not so popular the next. They therefore lose and gain notable amounts of money. The reason for the Internet's unpredictability, has a lot to do with the fact that it is a social area which is always changing, just as trends in society do also. Sites find that to survive they must reach their own niche market of sorts.
A site like 'Uncyclopedia', is an example of a form of utopia. meaning that users can change information to suit their needs and everyone can contribute.
I suppose you could say that because sites survive on the net by having their own 'niche' market, that these social groups allow for a form of utopia. Various sites gather massive amounts of popularity, sites about, lets face it often pretty strange things. Net cartoons like 'Home star Runner' make a significant amount of money from their niche market, who in turn buy their products (like t-shirts) over the net.
Groups such as second life, were able to group together to affect the overall function of the net, when they protested about advertising on their site. Notably, their site is a representation of a 'Utopian society', where everything is possible. And according to the lecturer Josh, (interesting fellow....) people go to these sites not so much for what is offered on them, but largely to communicate with one another.
Josh's site: http://www.secrettechnology.com/, makes fun of a lot of issues posed in society. He has done this by finding a way to effectively link literature with interactive games...worth a look.
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