I thought it fitting, given recent events, to share this episode of the Computer Chronicles discussing the Internet in 1993.
I don’t have to explain the internet to you – you know what it is, but understanding how it became what it is and why it was such a major thing, that’s something else entirely. I believe rather than try to explain it to you, it would be better to let the episode speak for itself, showing you just what the benefits of this new technology were for people – knowing that, you can infer quite well how limited the older systems like the original version of CompuServe, or even classic BBS’s really were for the sharing of information to a mass audience.
The internet isn’t just one system, owned by one company or individual- it’s a connection of many systems with various owners but one in particular actually owning or controlling that interconnection – it was open for everyone. That aspect is why I share this video, as at about 9:20 in, a guest very accurately describes this benefit of the Internet – something that recently has been put into jeopardy.
Equally worth pointing out is at 22:25 when another guest discusses how important it is that people have a way to exchange information in a “democratic society” and how we’ve lost that with mass media.
Very poignant, 25 years later.
Something funny I want to point out is that Stuart Cheifet constantly refers to it as just “internet” (as in, “so you can buy things on internet”) which is rather hilarious to hear, since we normally say “the internet.” This is also funny considering how many other things people add “the” to incorrectly (like “the google”) so… yeah. It was the early days, certainly, so phrasing wasn’t standardized but it’s a funny quirk I noticed.
Enjoy this trip back about 25 years ago, to the early days of the Internet.