From Analog to AI: How Has the Internet, Digitization, and Social Media Changed Us Part 1
A recent edition of the Middle Theory podcast started me to thinking about how the transition from analog to artificial intelligence has affected the human being already.
In thinking about this let's go back to the early 1990s, to the time of the Oklahoma City Federal Building bombing. Our main outlets for news was newspapers, magazines, radio, and the four major news networks. Before that day, Rush Limbaugh was the most popular talker on the local radio and a Greek restaurant that I frequented, played his show in the background, as people customers and workers talked over the news of the neighborhood, the church, the city. This was also the time of Mrs. Clinton's vast right wing conspiracy campaign. After OKC there was no more Limbaugh on the radio in the background, but the station that played the music of the 40s, 50s, and 60s. The food and the conversations were still generous, but the perceived mouthpiece was not to be found.
This was a time when a few people had computers fewer still had the internet. I would sometimes stop by Harry's salvage store, sometimes to pick up some deals on dented canned goods or box food, sometimes just visit with the people who gathered. On this day a young guy was in the store, talking about this great thing called the internet, where you could do or get almost anything: Nobody owned the internet. I was skeptical. Who would build an "information superhighway" and not make money on it. Most of us still crafted our thoughts from face-to-face conversation.
In 2002 I was blogging on Yahoo 360. This integrated email, chat, blogging, websites, and music. No one gave us a list of people to "follow" or be "friends" with. We searched for one another. I looked for bloggers who were writing things I was interested in. I found people who liked the same music I did on Audacity. No one just "liked" what you wrote and nobody just shared your stuff. I read and discussed modern parables with a writer from India; talked music and church life with an urban gospel singer from New Jersey; as well as reconnecting with a friend with whom I lifted weights and had bible studies. We chose which websites to visit. Bookmarked what we like. In short, while we read and thought for ourselves.
In about 2004 the library where I worked got a self=check system before Walmart did. This was the first step in what was hoped to be a great decrease in personnel. I warned other staff to find a specialty or you will be looking for a job. We put RFID tags in all the materials and demonstrated to our customers, how easy the system was to use. Children and adults walked past with little interest, preferring a familiar face to convenience. We have one of these dinosaurs near my desk today. Now people want the service, but we found it too expensive to maintain.
During this analog period, especially after 9/11 I was looking for alternative opinions via shortwave radio, CBC, China's English language broadcasting etc., as well as online news and opinion. The networking was organic. I would hear an interview, or read an article. I would follow up if it interested me looking at other opinions, or visiting the speaker, or writer's website. This was how I came to write for Republic Media.tv. It was an online site that collected bloggers and alternative news and entertainment television stations. Server crashes and a changing entertainment environment. This was the time of the computer user as content producer.
In thinking about this let's go back to the early 1990s, to the time of the Oklahoma City Federal Building bombing. Our main outlets for news was newspapers, magazines, radio, and the four major news networks. Before that day, Rush Limbaugh was the most popular talker on the local radio and a Greek restaurant that I frequented, played his show in the background, as people customers and workers talked over the news of the neighborhood, the church, the city. This was also the time of Mrs. Clinton's vast right wing conspiracy campaign. After OKC there was no more Limbaugh on the radio in the background, but the station that played the music of the 40s, 50s, and 60s. The food and the conversations were still generous, but the perceived mouthpiece was not to be found.
This was a time when a few people had computers fewer still had the internet. I would sometimes stop by Harry's salvage store, sometimes to pick up some deals on dented canned goods or box food, sometimes just visit with the people who gathered. On this day a young guy was in the store, talking about this great thing called the internet, where you could do or get almost anything: Nobody owned the internet. I was skeptical. Who would build an "information superhighway" and not make money on it. Most of us still crafted our thoughts from face-to-face conversation.
In 2002 I was blogging on Yahoo 360. This integrated email, chat, blogging, websites, and music. No one gave us a list of people to "follow" or be "friends" with. We searched for one another. I looked for bloggers who were writing things I was interested in. I found people who liked the same music I did on Audacity. No one just "liked" what you wrote and nobody just shared your stuff. I read and discussed modern parables with a writer from India; talked music and church life with an urban gospel singer from New Jersey; as well as reconnecting with a friend with whom I lifted weights and had bible studies. We chose which websites to visit. Bookmarked what we like. In short, while we read and thought for ourselves.
In about 2004 the library where I worked got a self=check system before Walmart did. This was the first step in what was hoped to be a great decrease in personnel. I warned other staff to find a specialty or you will be looking for a job. We put RFID tags in all the materials and demonstrated to our customers, how easy the system was to use. Children and adults walked past with little interest, preferring a familiar face to convenience. We have one of these dinosaurs near my desk today. Now people want the service, but we found it too expensive to maintain.
During this analog period, especially after 9/11 I was looking for alternative opinions via shortwave radio, CBC, China's English language broadcasting etc., as well as online news and opinion. The networking was organic. I would hear an interview, or read an article. I would follow up if it interested me looking at other opinions, or visiting the speaker, or writer's website. This was how I came to write for Republic Media.tv. It was an online site that collected bloggers and alternative news and entertainment television stations. Server crashes and a changing entertainment environment. This was the time of the computer user as content producer.
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