<nettime> The Internet should be for Everyone (fwd)

[Heiko Recktenwald <uzs106@ibm.rhrz.uni-bonn.de>]

Well, this is an old mail from another list, maybe it is interesting
enough:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 05 Feb 2002 07:27:08 +0000
Subject: The Internet should be for Everyone

> > > The Internet should be for Everyone - help make it so by joining the
> > > Internet Society - ISOC - at http://www.england.isoc.org
> >
> > Who is "everyone" in this context, everyone as in everyone ?

Everyone is potentially ALL. But not ALL will use the potential in the
same way. Use will likely range from passive to very active, from 'mass
market' consumption to highly individual and technically demanding
production, from 'mere' means of basic communication (one to one, one to
many, many to many, etc., etc.) to 'feature rich' multi-media (however
vacuous or empty).

Being for ALL does not demand that ALL have the same level of ability
and expertise. It does not prescribe solutions or services. It does
exhort, encourage, persuade, invite, etc., people to create and use.

But for ALL requires affordable, reasonable access, and equipment that
is affordable, easy to use, reliable.

> Or to be more precise, should, for example, internet tv be like tradional
> tv, with as many viewers possible, or should everybody be empowered to do
> programming ?

Why prescribe what internet tv should be? If the tools and training are
available, or made available, anyone has the potential to use them, but
the decision to do so depends on the individual. Many may be happy to
'view'. Empowering does not require people to do anything. What we hope,
through education and training, is that most will wish to be active and
involved users.

> Well, network effekts..
>

By seeing and involvement even as a passive consumer, each individual
will have the potential of active participation across a wide series of
networks of other people. The sky may yet be the limit for now, but the
world is truly our oyster.

Everyone is potentially ALL. But not ALL will use the potential in the
same way. Use will likely range from passive to very active, from 'mass
market' consumption to highly individual and technically demanding
production, from 'mere' means of basic communication (one to one, one to
many, many to many, etc., etc.) to 'feature rich' multi-media (however
vacuous or empty).

Being for ALL does not demand that ALL have the same level of ability
and expertise. It does not prescribe solutions or services. It does
exhort, encourage, persuade, invite, etc., people to create and use.

But for ALL requires affordable, reasonable access, and equipment that
is affordable, easy to use, reliable.


That's attempting to summarise my view of what we are trying to do
through the Internet Society.


JOIN US NOW! Check out details at http://www.isoc.org

ISOC-E has just sent out the first of its projected monthly newsletters.
I'd be happy to post, although this is quite a long one. It is available
at ISOC-NY also see
http://www.isoc-ny.org/pipermail/discuss/2002-February/000080.html and
the web site http://isoc-ny.org

Best wishes

<snip>

#  distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission
#  <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism,
#  collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets
#  more info: majordomo@bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body
#  archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net