What makes the web real
David Weinberger has been giving lectures at MIT in Boston on the reality of the web. This post inspired me to respond in the comments section, which I've repeated here for the reader.
Perhaps what is real is also what we are familiar with. When we discover something new and amazing, we have the expression "unreal!" (perhaps followed by "man!" if you are old enough). Does anyone think a bank account is not real anymore - or money is not real, for that matter?
These certainly fail the reality test as described by David. We end up with bits of paper and coins and cards and passbooks to provide a physical connection to money and accounts, which helps make them real - that is, helps make it possible to become familiar with them. On the Web, the physical connection might be the computer screen and keyboard, which will help to make it real (at least if we are already comfortable with using a computer). But David is saying that the "Web's reality has to do with connection, meaning and passion"; but I think only after we feel more familiar with it, and start to realise that there is are "real people" on the other end of those connections - which is something we are familiar with.
Well, something like that anyway.
David Weinberger has been giving lectures at MIT in Boston on the reality of the web. This post inspired me to respond in the comments section, which I've repeated here for the reader.
Perhaps what is real is also what we are familiar with. When we discover something new and amazing, we have the expression "unreal!" (perhaps followed by "man!" if you are old enough). Does anyone think a bank account is not real anymore - or money is not real, for that matter?
These certainly fail the reality test as described by David. We end up with bits of paper and coins and cards and passbooks to provide a physical connection to money and accounts, which helps make them real - that is, helps make it possible to become familiar with them. On the Web, the physical connection might be the computer screen and keyboard, which will help to make it real (at least if we are already comfortable with using a computer). But David is saying that the "Web's reality has to do with connection, meaning and passion"; but I think only after we feel more familiar with it, and start to realise that there is are "real people" on the other end of those connections - which is something we are familiar with.
Well, something like that anyway.
posted by Vergil | 12:16 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home