Chapter 43: The World Wide Web

Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin

Definitions

• Internet – An interconnected system of networks that

connects computers around the world (dictionary.com)

• World Wide Web– A system of extensively interlinked hypertext

documents: a branch of the Internet (dictionary.com)

Thesis

• The Internet and its further extensions remediate earlier media by enhancing the graphics, audio, visual and speed of access to information

• This allows the breakdown of distance barriers to include a more wide-spread audience, access to a larger, more organized compilation of information and creates opportunities for creativity, self expression and expansion

Introduction• The internet remediates the telegraph• 1993 = the first graphic web browser• 2 things came of this:

– larger audience– other media (i.e. magazines and newspapers

online)• The World Wide Web then evolved to include

moving images, animation, digital audio and visual, refashioning radio, film and television

Remediations on the Web

• Remediation: the correction of something bad or defective (dictionary.com)

• Respectful:– “Project Gutenberg” - replication– “American Memory Project” - preservation

• Radical:– Online Encyclopaedias - improvement– Online Television - control– Internet Phone Service - economic

• More Examples: Spark Notes, Facebook, YouTube, E-mail

Web Cameras• Like “television only better” (Crowley & Heyer 313) • Constant live video stream that is able to monitor

events as they happen• Can be viewed almost instantaneously on the

Internet• Incorporated in many aspects of life (i.e. family life,

work and play)• Webcams “make some part of the physical world

transparent to the Internet” (Crowley & Heyer 314)

What are Webcams Used For?

Online Chat

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl95nIN3Jx8

• Breaks down barriers of distance• Connects family and friends when they

can’t see each other face-to-face• Conferences can be held over webcam

making it more convenient and affordable• Close as you can get to reality on the

Internet

Discussion Questions

• Do you think remediations of human interaction on the web will become more common/preferred than actual interactions? For example: MSN chatting, instead of face-to-face conversation

• Do you think the webcam replaces real face-to-face interaction or enhances them and why?

Telecom Nation“Introduction”

Mussio, L.B.

Thesis

• The mass expansion of telecommunication systems in the twentieth century caused the Canadian government to intervene.

Telecommunications• The telecommunications system in the 20th

century was too important to be left to the market alone, as the telephone carried massive social and political consequences for the country

• Everything about these communication technologies had to do with the public – They depended on public law– Used public property– Provided public services– And became public utilities

Government Responses

• The rapid spread and adaptations of communications systems forced governments to respond

• Each country’s government had their own way of asserting control and intervening

Telecommunications (2)• First half of the 20th century featured one major

innovation: TELEPHONY• The relationship between public power and

communications became a vital one in Canada• Before 1945 Government regulation confined

itself to seeing that: – Telecom monopolies made a reasonable profit– Consumers had reliable service at a reasonable

cost– Ensured system development– Made sure that economic objectives were possible

Telecommunications (3)

• End of WWII= explosion in communications that offset the balance between public power and technology

• Telecommunications technology was becoming universal, accessible, and indispensible

• Major Institutional Players:– Bell Telephone Company of Canada– IBM, the International Business Machine of

America

The Arrival of the Computer

• 1960s

• Regulators had to balance the importance of it’s development, with pressure over rates and services

• Governments never really responded to these technological changes in consistent ways

Telecom Nation

• Canada’s encounter with the post-war transformation in communications

• The consequences of the interaction between public power and technological change

• Computer + Telecommunications= Information Highway

• Policy makers were trying to take control over and develop a technological change and information highway before it even existed

Telecommunications (4)

• The history of Canadian Broadcasting surfaced the attempts of the state to defend its communication interests, while mediating between the competing attempts of other actors

• The success of Canadian telecommunications is the result of both government and non government regulation

• A majority of telecommunications is operated at a national level

Telecommunication Utilities

• Three principle telecommunication utilities which are operated at the federal level:– The Bell Telephone Company of Canada,

operated in Ontario, Quebec, and North West Territories

– British Columbia Telephones, operated in British Columbia

– CN/CP Telegraphs (later Telecommunications), operated nationally

Telecommunications (5)

• Overseas telecommunication operated by The Canadian Overseas Telecommunications Corporation

• Telecommunications did influence Canadian Economics; however, Canadian Political arrangements shaped how this technology would be dealt with

• Historical patterns as well as government attitudes shaped how new communication technologies were perceived

Discussion Questions• Do you think within our modern day

telecommunication system the government is still regulated to a certain degree? Or is the public the primary influencing factor?

• Do you think monopolies of a few telecommunication industries would be beneficial or harmful to the general population? Would they provide stronger/weaker services in terms of price and quality?