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CONSEQUENCES AND CONCLUSIONS. Chapter 12 Shedletsky & Aitken Human Communication on the Internet. Introductory Comments. In the early days of the Internet, there was a great deal of access to information and discussion;
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CONSEQUENCES AND CONCLUSIONS Chapter 12 Shedletsky & Aitken Human Communication on the Internet
Introductory Comments • In the early days of the Internet, there was a great deal of access to information and discussion; • With the commercialization of the Internet, we see a striking move in the direction of controlling the flow of information and discussion; • This has created a tension;
Tension • The tension between an open Internet and a controlled Internet could lead to leaving people out--or not; • The ideology of the early days of the Internet has been described as collectivist—content not determined by the corporate world; • Just how this tension will be played out is important to us all;
What We Do Think • Computers and the Internet will become more capable; • Computers and the Internet will become more pervasive; • Technological advances should include; • Increased capacity • More convergence • Smaller size • Greater mobility • Increased flexibility • Lower cost
Convergence • Convergence is the integration of various media; • Internet users vs. nonusers is an over simplistic approach to analyzing Internet effects; • We live at the beginning of the age of convergence;
The Future • We recognize the great danger in suggesting possible future scenarios; • Media history has left a long and quite evident trail of mistaken prophecies; • Erroneous predictions date back to at least the advent of writing; • Change in communication technology goes quickly and slowly (“Paul Saffo and the 30-Year Rule”);
The Future • Our focus is on a communication perspective, and certain facts get our attention: • The great increase in Internet traffic • The amount of communication behavior of Internet users • Time spent online is increasing • Wireless technology to access the Internet • The size of the Internet is expanding rapidly • The public’s (positive) attitude toward the Internet
The Future • Recognizing that our predictions are likely to be wrong, we speculate that: • The Internet will encourage a casual style of writing • That this will carry over into non-Internet writing • Writing will mimic the spoken, conversational form
The Future • We speculate that: • Collaboration over the Internet will grow • The Internet will be transformative in our thinking • It engages our imagination with the idea of a ‘space’ for multiple purposes • A space accessed from multiple locations • In more and more ways • In multiple times • One that expands and integrates far flung functions • One that blurs boundaries and creates new categories
A New Space • The generative idea we are proposing here is at once: • private and public • Intrapersonal and transpersonal • Breaks old communication boundaries and creates new ones
Some Final Thoughts • In spite of the dangers of predicting the communication future, we offer a few thoughts to guide our observations: • (1) computers and the Internet will become more capable • (2) computers and the Internet will become more pervasive • (3) the capabilities of the Internet and human desire will determine the future of communication on the Internet