Phenomenon of the WWW

Post nuclear America - and no doubt the rest of the world -was unaware of the brilliance of what was about to proceed when the idea of a decentralized network consisting of flows and nodes rapidly developed and engaged the masses across the globe. What was originally coined “an intriguing concept of a decentralized, blastproof, pocketswitching network” (Sterling, 1993, p 1), was invented with the intentions of stabilizing the American communication systems after the event of a nuclear attack. Interestingly enough, the users of this network began to use the communication system as a means of personal and social contact – “to gossip and  schmooze” (Sterling, 1993 p 2).  This fact I found quite interesting as it is still true today.

Image 1
 So here we are, roughly four decades later, faced with a phenomenon that plays a great role in shaping our society and dictating our daily existence. For myself personally, I have Internet access at my fingertips 24 hours a day 7 days a week, it heavily dictates my level of knowledge, information access, socializing opportunities and university study . This networked sphere I have unconsciously immersed myself in, somehow shapes every facet of my life, in one way or another. This notion is promoted by Stadler, “All human actions rely, in varying degrees, on digital information networks” (2005, p 62). 

 

 

Image 2

Stadler goes on to describe how the Internet is constructed through a network consisting of flows and nodes – an interdependent, dynamic relationship, subject to change, with high velocity whose existence is determined by differentiation (2005). This concept was initially difficult for me to grasp as the visual diagrams did not translate into an explanation of how the Internet phenomenon mechanically produces structured networks which spit out the right information on the right platforms at the right time! Yet upon reflection the idea of the Internet in general is a complex enough marvel to wrap ones head around. So the idea of flows and nodes, and there tendency to carry information across the globe will have to suffice at this time. 

 

Sterling, B. (1993) 'A Short History of the Internet', The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction [URL: http://sodacity.net/system/files/Bruce_Sterling_A_Short_History_of_the_Internet.pdf]

Stalder, F. (2005) 'Information Ecology'. In Open Cultures and the Nature of Networks pp. 62-66 [URL: http://felix.openflows.com/pdf/Notebook_eng.pdf]