Since I am old enough to have grown up without the existence of the internet, I am always aware of the change it has made in our lives.
In my own life, I often see this in the simplest of ways, such as when I'm watching a movie, and wonder, what else have I seen this actor in...? I used to call my mother and say, "What was the name of the Alfred Hitchcock movie where Ingrid Bergman's husband is making her think she's losing her mind...?" Those days are gone. I still call my mother, but we talk about other stuff. (Answer: Gaslight.)
How has the internet changed my own life? Just off the top of my head: making friends all over the world, who I meet in person whenever possible; the complete transformation of political organizing (the costs have plummeted and the reach has skyrocketed); planning a trip (does anyone remember planning trips before the internet?); getting directions; following an out-of-town baseball team; reading non-local newspapers, and reading newspapers and magazines from anywhere in the world; staying in touch with friends and acquaintances from past jobs or activities; selling or giving away unwanted stuff, or buying someone else's; getting help with every day problems.
And for me, above everything, always: emigrating. Before we moved, every person we knew in Canada, we met through the internet. I have said this so many times, but it's a bedrock truth of my life: this experience would have been far scarier, and far lonelier, without the internet.
One of the things I love most about the internet is how it has fostered a spirit of giving. The free exchange of ideas and the ease of connection has led to, I believe, a greater willingness to help strangers.
Generosity is contagious, and it spreads quickly. So many people have extended themselves to us in our move here and our adjustment to our new lives. I try to help people who email me for information, and I assume those people will do the same for others. We've all seen it in forums, blogs and bulletin boards: people helping each other, just because.
These connections are more than just information exchange. They put us in touch with our ability to give help and to receive it, two essential aspects of human society. They expand our humanity.
* * * *
Another arena the internet has transformed is consumer activism. Allan recently hit paydirt in this department, when he blogged about a huge problem he's having with downloads he bought from Major League Baseball.
Readers ran with it, including someone who posted it at Boing Boing. From there, it's been on Slashdot, Wired, TechDirt, and many other tech-related sites. Writers picked it up on Yahoo, AOL, Tech Wag, Privacy Digest, Daily Tech News, the Guardian's technology blog, Consumerist and probably several others we haven't seen. The Globe and Mail called for an interview, as did the L.A. Times; the The Washington Post emailed. Several lawyers have mentioned class action suits.
And here's the really big news: by the end of the first day, Allan was on a conference call with representatives of Major League Baseball. They claim they're fixing the problem, now and for the future. You can be sure everyone is watching to make sure they do.
This would have been impossible without the internet and the blogosphere. Allan already had been sending emails and making phone calls - all ignored. He could have tried to interest some media, but that's extremely time- and energy-consuming. Without the play online, it's unlikely that he ever would have gotten either a refund or access to his downloads. Now Baseball has been forced to fix the problem, not just for one consumer, but for everyone.
21 comments:
It happened amazingly fast. I put up the post mid-morning and by 6 PM, I was on the call with several MLB people, including a VP of Communications.
Laura also disproves the old cliche about the internet making us all isolated, with a shrinking social circle. While that can be true for some people, the net has also helped people find others who share similar interests.
During Red Sox games this season, we had a core of people -- a dozen, anyway, often more -- blabbing during games every night. Some were in New England, one was in South Carolina, another in Seattle, one guy was staying at a hotel in Milwaukee, another was ruining his sleep patterns in England.
People that would have watched the game by themselves were chatting -- as if we were all in the same room watching the Sox.
Acually, one guy was in the Toronto on business during the playoffs -- and he came over and watched two games with us and the dogs. (... with his laptop, so he could chat with the others!)
I saw the posting on BoingBoing yesterday, and commented on it to Lori, but my name-blindness kicked in and I completely failed to register that the original post came from Allan! Small world. :)
I saw the posting on BoingBoing yesterday, and commented on it to Lori, but my name-blindness kicked in and I completely failed to register that the original post came from Allan! Small world. :)
I was wondering if you might see it! Cool.
Acually, one guy was in the Toronto on business during the playoffs -- and he came over and watched two games with us and the dogs. (... with his laptop, so he could chat with the others!)
And that guy is from Israel, where he connects with other baseball and Red Sox fans through blogs...
Hey L-girl, Speaking of getting together with people you meet online: I'm driving down to Hamilton on Fri the 16th. Is that a work day or would you be available for a coffee? Cheers, Jjjp
Hi Jen! Ooo, I would have loved to. Unfortunately that day is the deadline for the story I'm working on, plus my last day to prepare for our trip to NJ for US Thanksgiving. Bah.
Please think of me next time you are down this way. :)
You are so right! I wouldn't have met you and more importantly, you wouldn't have met the best dog in the world :)
We didn't have phones in Korea. Only rich people did, but somehow we did manage without.
Now I am wondering...how? We visited relatives on a regular basis. Did we just barge in on each other without letting them know? Asked my aunts, and they don't remember either.
Now the Internet, and memories of my life without it are fading. But in a lot of ways, it still feels like a novelty.
The Internet does make us all so much closer together.
I promise I won't do it but if I did happen to end up in Wellington, New Zealand there's probably a couple of couches I could crash on for a couple of weeks each.
if I did happen to end up in Wellington, New Zealand there's probably a couple of couches I could crash on for a couple of weeks each.
Funny you mention NZ. I have two internet friends there, plus one former NYC friend, now in London, moving to NZ, and we are in touch by email.
NZ is high on my list of places to visit, so it's cool thinking I know people on the other side of the globe.
Now the Internet, and memories of my life without it are fading. But in a lot of ways, it still feels like a novelty.
I know what you mean. I cannot imagine life without it, yet I still marvel at it like it's brand new.
Very interesting thoughts re your family in Korea. They must have just shown up, unannounced - but perhaps at certain times that were considered acceptable "visiting hours".
You made me think about traveling before the Internet. What a pain: Writing letters or making phone calls to places you could not see,then waiting for photos in the mail before renting houses; reading out of date guide books; trying to find train, plane, or bus schedules. How DID we do it?
As someone relatively new to the blogosphere (Joy of Sox was my first dip in the pool), I have to say it has made a big difference in many ways. Though I would love to meet my JOS friends in person, even if I never do, the many hours we shared and will share watching baseball were among the best baseball hours I have spent. It's almost like I can hear the voices and see the faces, even though I have never seen or heard any of the participants.
Hail to Al Gore for "inventing" the Internet! :))
Back then, only rich people had phones, and I think it was mostly because of the poor infrastructure.
Now check this out.
Remind me not to brag to my relatives about my FIOS which runs at about 5M.
Though I would love to meet my JOS friends in person, even if I never do, the many hours we shared and will share watching baseball were among the best baseball hours I have spent.
That's really a wonderful thing to "hear". Thanks! It is fun! (A winning team helps a bit, I think.)
It's almost like I can hear the voices and see the faces, even though I have never seen or heard any of the participants.
Maybe we need a photo gallery post before next April!
Yes, a photo gallery would be a lot of fun. I can see Tim steaming his spinach already!
Bummer L-girl. There is a chance we'll end up living in TO or H'ton starting in June (or seven other lovely/lovely-ish Cdn cities) at which point you won't be able to get rid of me (kidding...) Happy writing & traveling, JJjp
There is a chance we'll end up living in TO or H'ton starting in June (or seven other lovely/lovely-ish Cdn cities)
Nothing like a little uncertainty, eh? :)
If you are nearby or even near-ish, it will be great to meet.
It is good that you make a point of trying to meet in person the people you communicate with over the net. That does make it seem more real. As I read this, I realized that I still see it as sort of not real, like I'm sort of hiding behind a keyboard while communicating with people in a sort of disembodied way.
I do think it's good to remember, too, that great organizing and actions were undertaken without computers. The huge, nation-wide demonstrations and serious actions that took place immediately after the public found out that Nixon had expanded the bombing of Vietnam into Cambodia and Laos - huge, simultaneous uprisings all across the country, no internet, no computers much at all, but immense, serious, effective actions. I honestly can't imagine that happening in today's US, even with the internet. Hopefully, I'm underestimating contemporary Americans, but I don't think so. I guess this sort of relates to your national strike post.
As I read this, I realized that I still see it as sort of not real, like I'm sort of hiding behind a keyboard while communicating with people in a sort of disembodied way.
I think that may be the case for many people.
It's also helped me to use my real name - or, I should say, make my real name available, connected to my screen name. I understand why many people don't want to do that, but IMO the fears are exaggerated. For me, it's helped the whole internet experience be more integrated into my life - part of my real life.
Now, post-move, most of my friendships originated through the internet, so that makes it integrated, too.
I do think it's good to remember, too, that great organizing and actions were undertaken without computers.
Very true. Very important to remember.
I worked on a march on Washington in 1992, and it cost a fortune, and was only marginally successful. I marvelled at how the huge anti-war and civil rights demonstrations took place. I think it was partly the urgency of the moment, but partly a different world, too, as you say.
I honestly can't imagine that happening in today's US, even with the internet.
I know. And so much activism today happens only online. That's the down side. We educate each other and share information, but that's not visible to the part of the public that's uninformed or to the rest of the world.
Now I am wondering...how? We visited relatives on a regular basis. Did we just barge in on each other without letting them know? Asked my aunts, and they don't remember either.
When my (Mennonite farmer) father was courting my (Scottish business family) mother, he once bicycled from U of T to her house in Creemore -- about 130km (it'd take me about 8 hours to bike that... I don't know what it took him) -- and showed up at my grandmother's posh (for little Creemore) house, hot and sweaty, unannounced and unanticipated.
he once bicycled from U of T to her house in Creemore -- about 130km (it'd take me about 8 hours to bike that... I don't know what it took him) -- and showed up at my grandmother's posh (for little Creemore) house, hot and sweaty, unannounced and unanticipated.
That is seriously gutsy, or nuts, or likely a bit of both.
My father used to ride the streetcar from his slummy Coney Island neighbourhood to my mother's upscale Brooklyn neighbourhood. They didn't have phones either, so I don't know how they figured it out.
Apparently my future father was known to track dog shit on my grandmother's expensive carpet, or have a nosebleed on the couch.
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