One thing I found interesting from the "After the Dot Com Crash" article was how so many people flocked to the world wide web though there was so much risk involved. I feel it was a blind faith approach that internet pioneers had when introducing this new phenomenon. I think they understood at some point, everyone was going to be connected. I believe the early ones who that took advantage had to be visionaries, because at some point there were going to be pitfalls. They needed to instill trust within those who were putting one foot in the door. I think during the 1990's, the internet was a small bubble that needed to go through some trials and tribulations in order to expand, because if they were going to be here for the long haul, getting over hard times would provide strength.
The "History of the Internet" article stated the following that I agree with: "the internet encourages everyone to contribute their creative ideas, knowledge, and works and make them available to others interactively on the internet". In my opinion, this quote speaks on the network aspect of the internet, a community space where someone can contribute and have his or her stake in something. I also agree that the future of the internet depends on how we shape it. I view the internet as hundreds of dimensions, the more dimensions we find, the more complex the internet will get. This will cause the internet to continually revolutionize society.
I don't think the phrase web 2.0 needs to be used in order to describe today's world wide web. People these days don't need a catchy title to latch on to some hot, new, up and coming thing. They can base their willingness to hop on a bandwagon by their own individual motivations and needs.
What risks do you have in mind? Could you be more specific about the different factors of faith, trust, and risk? When the bubble burst, it was a big deal. The economy went into recession. Stock indexes dropped--the NASDAQ lost half it's value and has never returned to its dotcom bubble highs.
ReplyDeleteDo you see a tension between your emphasis on creative ideas and knowledge, on the one hand, and the economic boom and bust on the other?
I encourage you to consider one or other of the pieces in more detail. Your post seems to oscillate between the view that the internet by itself revolutionized society and a view of individual motivations and needs. Did people's need for the internet bring it into being?