“The Internet is good for funny cat videos, Facebook, and email, but really — that’s about it.”
Some go as far as saying it’s all just a big waste of time; that we’d do well to get rid of the whole thing.
People who say things like this are only looking at a facet of the Internet/World Wide Web, though. The Internet has changed our way of life, and we argue that — even with all the fighting and trolling going on out there — it’s become vital to the existence of developed societies…and just might help remote areas become more developed.
[This episode, obviously, is released online…and because of some plumbing fun at Shawn’s place over the weekend, it was also recorded online.]
We kick it off by talking about when we first started using the Internet. After that, we devote some time to what our tech lives were like before logging on to the World Wide Web. And we wrap up the opening section by discussing how the Internet has changed our lives.
Connectivity to the Internet has been around long enough in popular use, now, that there are generations that never knew a life without it. We talk about how the lives of those raised on the Internet differ from the lives of young people before the Internet.
Right now, the FCC is considering allowing providers to control the speed at which customers have access to the Internet. We talk a bit about Net Neutrality before revealing our favorite — and least favorite — things about the Internet.
Next, we talk about the Internet at its full potential before discussing just how important it is in our lives — and even how important it is to society. If the Internet suddenly went away, what effect would that have on us all?
We close out this episode asking each other what we think the Internet will be like in 2020…and beyond…
Another nice thing about the Internet is the ability to have your say. We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
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Like Shawn, the person I am today would not exist without the internet. Without the internet, I’d live in a different state, have a different job, wouldn’t be married to a guy from Massachusetts, wouldn’t have kitties from Maine, and wouldn’t be published in online anthologies. I also wouldn’t be as empowered, knowledgeable, informed, and entertained.
All those things, indeed! It really is the greatest invention to become big in our time, and — I’d argue — the biggest and most important invention in history, just because people get to add their own spin to it all. It’s easy to knock, but even if you work in a job where you don’t use the Internet directly, it is probably still used somewhere along the way. A lot of people don’t seem to get just how much a part of life it is. It’s almost like people who fly so often that it no longer hits them that they are IN THE SKY and able to travel to the other side of the world in the time it once took to just travel one town over.
Also, Kitties from Maine should be a band name…
Kittie’s from Canada.
http://youtu.be/r3ThppM3IhA
(Sorry. It was too easy.)