I know President Clinton is widely regarded as the first Commander and Chief in the Internet Age. This argument does have some merit, if you manage to forget the state of people’s interaction with the Internet throughout most of Clinton’s time in office. While the structure was there, no one was really using the Internet, at least not the way it is used now. In short, like all other presidents before him, William Jefferson Clinton never had to deal with YouTube.
The best illustration I can think of brings me back to college. I was a freshman in the fall of 1996 and distinctly remember how having an Ethernet card in my computer (even just having a computer) made me a unique commodity in dorm life. In fact, most of the first friends I made in college were the precious few students taking advantage of this fantastic and ever-connected gateway to the Internet.
Now, I would like you to think back to the ‘90s. How many of you had an e-mail address in 1996? How many of you had a computer? Then, there is the matter of connectivity. Before 2000 I could count on one hand the number of people I knew with a dedicated Internet connection. I myself used dial-up until 2001. As 2008 wraps up, I’ll bet I could walk down the block and be hard-pressed to find a family without a DSL line or Broadband modem.
Heck, forget computers, those clunky, wire-ridden desktop paperweights from 2004. Did you have a WiFi laptop? How did we drink coffee at Starbucks without the Internet to keep us company?
Did you even have a cell phone, let alone the wireless multimedia monsters many of us carry in our pockets nowadays? I have a HTC G1, and the little thing is at least as much a functioning laptop as the first portable computer I used to lug around.
So yes, we all are loaded down with Internet-driven gizmos now – where is this going? The Internet, with its global reach and growing audience, coupled with widespread access to increasingly inexpensive and impressively reliable computer technology birthed a nigh on infinite observation and criticism engine. This vast information network, once the plaything of the military and scientific community, is available to the masses. The printing press, a machine that revolutionized communication and learning the world over, is a child’s toy compared to the Internet.
