Information Superhighway
With reference to the link:
we will try to get an understanding on Information Superhighway and the role of internet in making a newer world. During the period of 1994 mass media played a significant role. Mass Media contributed a lot in the dissemination of message or information which brought a new term called Information Superhighway. There was radio, television, newspapers and then internet to spread as much information one could want.
The Internet vs. Information Superhighway
There are some major differences between the internet and information superhighway. The points which separates them are mentioned below:
Flat fee, Pay per use: On one hand most users on Internet either pay nothing or pay a very minimal amount of charge to the organizations. This minimal amount is compared as low cost flat fee. On the other hand 'Pay per use' affects the user's access habits.
Producers vs. Consumers: In the internet the sender can be a receiver and the receiver can be a sender too. Through Information Superhighway most people will be going through the stage of a consumer where they will face many situations where they have to absorb many information.
Information vs. Entertainment: With the advent of Internet the definition of information and entertainment has changed. Now, both are available instantly. Users can customize their needs. The information which they are looking for or which they don't can be customized in computers in the age of new media. Entertainment also can be chosen according to wish of the user.
Changing access and relationship to culture: Internet has given the cushion of accessing anything at fingertips Even accessing a specific culture is not far away. With the click of a mouse a person sitting in India can get to know everything about European culture or American culture and many more. Marshall McLuhan's concept of 'Global Village' is becoming true. There is a constant blend in every aspect of life due to internet. Language, culture, ideologies and values of a specific country are all mixing with their counterparts from other countries which brings out a monoculture kind of concept.
When the internet was revolutionized for the first time in the USA, it was very expensive. However, over a period of time with advent of newer technologies at a faster pace, the price was slashed. From America, internet came to European market. However, in Europe it was highly opposed as the Europeans were not ready to accept any American ideology. They started to build their own internet technology and the government of various countries also started to contribute towards the development of internet by providing subsidies to the internet giants.
Some major events happened are:
Tim Berners-Lee came up with the World Wide Web protocol.
Wikipedia was the first website to be launched in Web 2.0
During this time another movement was happening parallely. In 1984 Richard Stolman, an MIT an came up with the concept of free software. It was known as Linux based on the Unix (Shell) platform. It was first of its kind to have user generated code.
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