David Hudson turns a skeptical but humorous eye on the past, present, and future of the Internet, and, with an irreverence that stops just short of cynicism, debunks the myths of a cyber-utopia. He compares Net hype to the dreams of earlier communications revolutions--predictions that telephones would mean the end of traffic jams or that cable television would put power into the hands of individuals and small business.
Access is a big issue for Hudson. While it's still possible to participate online with a low-powered computer and slow modem, various pressures on the Net (the growth of the graphical Web and the trend toward snazzier graphics and animations) continue to raise the price of total participation. This is no one-man tirade, however. The book also offers conversations with people like virtual community pioneer Howard Rheingold, Rock producer Brian Eno, and Louis Rosetto, cyber-libertarian and publisher of Wired magazine.
It's not that Hudson is down on cyberculture--he's soaking in it. But he has a firm disregard for the sort of romanticizing that closes its eyes to real problems and real issues. And while he agrees that the Net is part of a major revolution in world culture, he doesn't believe the direction that revolution will take is easy to predict. One highlight of the book is the series of interviews Hudson conducted with writer Paulina Borsook, who dared to criticize Wired and Rosetto--and then lost her contract with Wired's book publishing division, Hardwired. Many of these essays and interviews have appeared on the Rewired Web site, but Hudson has pulled them together topically, and added commentary and updates.
Product Description
The author charts the course of the Internet from its quiet birth to the impact of commercialization of the Web and the current rush to convert the Net into a passive medium. Includes interviews with Wired editor Louis Rossetto, and former Wired contributing writer Paulina Borsook.
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