February 1, 1997
Net TV
and the future of everything else
If anything, the web is becoming more and more like TV. Lets consider the last few years, briefly.
Not so long ago the Internet barely existed and those people that were on it, used it for e-mail, reading usenet news, or searching for info via ARCHIE or Gopher. Such as myself. There were also a few people who dialed into Bulletin Boards and communicated with the rest of the online world as members of such organisations.
Then HTML came into existence and a few more people became interested with the idea of hypertext. These are mostly the same people who continue to use Lynx to this day. Unlike myself.
Next thing you know, an explosion goes off somewhere at the NSCA and Mosaic, not to mention the World Wide Web as we used to know it, was born. Mosaic begat Netscape, Netscape took over and now Microsoft looks to conquer all with Internet Explorer.
The purpose of this little historical rendition? A caveat: the more like TV the Internet has become, the more people have flocked to it. The more graphic, the better.
Now of course the Net is not TV. The Net is about people communicating with other people via computer networks (all the while being sold as audiences for advertisers and databases for marketers). TV is about sitting in a room, perhaps with other people, and experiencing the lives of incredible yet fictitious characters (all the while being sold as an audience for advertisers etc.).
However, as the WWW becomes more technologically advanced, we seem to be experiencing an increase of vaguely familiar concepts. The Webcast is among us, in full video and audio. Daily news coverage splashes the screen. And we even have the first Network of the net.
The thrust of it all seems to be this: content. As MSNBC, AOL, and countless others attempt to create real content for the web, they tend to turn to traditionally minded ways of presenting it. People know what they like, after all.
And yet where will this all lead us? Will the online magazine merge with the online TV show, the online performance stage and the online poetry reading? If any of these are to survive, the answer will have to be yes.
Each of these seperate genres has a role to play in popular culture and each has strengths and weaknesses. If the Net can combine all these forms, and many others, into one popular network of information, then there is hope for intelligent life on the net.
If not, we might just be in for a continual dumbing down of the Net. The Teeveeification of the WWW. The lowest common denominator.
|
Hot Wired
The daily online sister to Wired magazine, HotWired offers top commentary on all things digital, post-modern, and cultural. Cyberspace, teevee, health, travel, and dream jobs all mesh under HotWired's interactive design.
Salon
A little politics, a little net news, a little innuendo, a little bit for everyone. This daily site for modern citizens is less interested in the net and more interested in life.
Word
This New York City based magazine is full of excellent design and content. Covering contemporary culture, technology, travel, economics, and desire, Word offers a smorgasbord of content. Word also makes full use of Real Audio and Shockwave plug-ins to supplement its text-only articles.
Slate
Yeah sure, it's run by Microsoft, and yes they got a bigwig New York editor to help out. But Slate still has plenty of thought provoking content and, hey, it's free!
Tripod
Tripod offers service as much as content. With U.S. political updates, employment databases, and free email reminders, Tripod is a 'zine beyond expectations. Tripod's three-way focus on work, politics, and the rest of life, creates plenty of interesting and useful content.
|
Online 'zines
