Comments on: Internet 2.0: the economic, social and cultural consequences of the new Internet

By: E-Oasis Alerts

E-Oasis Alerts — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 18:39:55 +0000

Does Web 2.0 make you hyperventilate?

Grant McCracken sits at the intersection of Anthropology and Economics. His post (now six months young) on the Internet 2.0: the economic, social and cultural consequences of the new Internet is worth revisting. Even though six months have passed, it&#…

By: Customer Experience Crossroads

Customer Experience Crossroads — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 18:42:16 +0000

The Indie Virus: What will those bloggers think of next?

The Indie Virus is an experiment in linking cooked up by Chris Pearson at Pearsonified. I found out about it from the ICE blog, a very good customer experience blog, that talked about The Indie Virus. And I’m exceptionally grateful

By: Jenny Attiyeh

Jenny Attiyeh — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 22:50:22 +0000

Not a bad wordsmith yourself, John! “Tyranny of the Instant.” Nice!

By: John Hibbs

John Hibbs — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 10:10:41 +0000

This is one of the most profound pieces about the Net that I have come across in more than a decade being passionate about the changes in store because of it. My work is virtual entirely virtual and my connections worldwide have brought me into contact with some exceptional people. But as extensive as are those contacts and as brilliant as many of them are, I don’t know anyone that could author something of this profundity. Thank you Grant.

About what Jenny has to say? There are ten million reasons to get to know and love Shakespeare. One of them – a big one – is his continuous urging that we find “balance” in our lives. Jenny, this is not an “either/or” proposition — it’s a BOTH proposition. Not easy, especially in an Age where there greatest danger is the Tyranny of the Instant. You are right — we need to hug the trees and walk the dog and snuggle closely to our friends and lovers — and when we do that, along with our connectivity opportunities, with the proper measure of “balance”, we will have enriched our lives in ways that even the Bard might not have imagined.
John Hibbs
http://www.bfranklin.edu/johnhibbs

By: Jenny Attiyeh

Jenny Attiyeh — Wed, 04 Jan 2006 21:12:49 +0000

Thanks for the intelligent dissection of “Internet 2.0″ and what it might actually mean for the future. I am of course flattered that Grant listened to my ThoughtCast podcast, so I’m biased in his favor, but…. it would be worth taking a stand now, while the future hasn’t happened yet, on whether or not these developments (1 thru 3 I agree are highly likely to occur) are in our best interests, or those of future generations.
In my podcast, David Weinberger speaks to the benefits of a virtual, or online social life. I raise the issue of fresh air, going for walks, physical human contact. To be frank, if we are to live at such a distance from others that we don’t even know what our ‘friends’ look like, or how they behave in the real world, then we will sadly discover that we have no friends, merely acquaintances. Friends are people who will, if necessary, wait with you in the emergency room, or help you pack boxes prior to a move, or even worse, take care of your dog when you’re out of town. At least that’s my opinion.
Think of it like online matchmaking. If you like the description of someone on some website, and you strike up an e-mail intercourse – yes, I think this is a valid use of that term – then you might think you know how you feel about this person. How many of us think we’ve met this fabulous new ‘friend’ online, or over the phone even, only to be disappointed when you meet face to face? And I’m not just talking about romance here.
This concept of a controlled relationship — no, they won’t call you and interrupt your dinner, or ask you to come over at the last minute to hear their latest sob story, or leave you irritating voicemail messages you feel obliged to return — is not what I want to see the future become. I don’t want a hands-off, ‘safe’ form of social interaction that (and I’m getting into hot water when I say this, or at least I did with David Weinberger) only reinforces the paltry offline social skills that many netizens seem to possess.
Okay, please convince me that I’m wrong.
With interest,
Jenny

By: Convergence Culture Consortium (C3@MIT)

Convergence Culture Consortium (C3@MIT) — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 15:45:36 +0000

Holiday Insights from Grant McCracken

For those who aren’t already reading C3 Faculty Advisor Grant McCracken’s excellent blog, two of his recent posts are of particular interest. First, he suggests that corporations have a need for outside consultants who can extract brands, ideas, and in…

By: Convergence Culture Consortium (C3@MIT)

Convergence Culture Consortium (C3@MIT) — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 15:32:07 +0000

Holiday Insights from Grant McCracken

By: Tensegrities

Tensegrities — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 20:17:56 +0000

Internet 2.0

Here’s a really interesting analysis of various metaphors being used to explain the impact of the web on cultures….

By: Shamus

Shamus — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 20:03:22 +0000

I love this kind of thinking, but it does miss a discussion of the architecture of the internet. Many people who use the internet and wax lyrical do not understand the underlying layers that it is built on. To this end it is important to note the discussions that are taking place around attempts by the ISP’s to created a two tiered internet. Voluminous discussion can be found here: http://www.michaelgeist.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1040 and here: http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-48,GGLD:en&q=two+tiered+internet

The Telco ISP’s are attempting to usurp the gaurenteed end to end connectivity of the internet which will surely undo aspects of all these models.

By: Patricia

Patricia — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 19:42:27 +0000

“The Internet is a reformation machine. It will create new fundamentals of and for our world. It change the units of analysis and the relationships between them. This reformation model says, in other words, that the coming changes will deeply cultural…and not merely social (model 2) and economic (model 1). ”
—–
very interesting post. i disagree with peter on the filters, and myself believe our culture will continue its unravelling via disintermediation, ready for reformation in new forms that serve a culture that has shifted.

although ‘info overload’ is true, those growing up in this new information framework will naturally adapt, inventing new ways of organization/filtering for more effective info absorption. think of other major 20th century tech and how it modified cultural perceptions over time. TV is a terrific example. those over the age of 30 who adopted this new tech as adults never totally adjusted nor changed their perceptions completely concerning the new VISUALLY textured media landscape. that paradigm shift in perception took place in the generation after, which grew up with it, spawning even richer visual context with newer tech, like the web’s graphical interface.

the web’s affects on cultural interaction are only beginning, its ability to form social groups outside of geographical and language barriers are just a hint, i believe, at what is eventually to come.