Conglomerates use mergers, investment concentration, and privatization to drain remaining non-commercial vitality from public discussion. Let me be clear: despite the admirable efforts of public advocates demanding access for schools, communities, and individuals, these initiatives are likely to be honored only in rhetoric, not resources. Social spaces on the information superhighway will be expensive. We may, if we desire, choose an alternative technological route, but given the present political climate, these initiatives will have the limited effectiveness of the 2 a.m. public-service announcement.
Predictor: Monberg, John
Prediction, in context:In a 1994 article for Computer-Mediated Communication magazine, John Monberg, a graduate student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, writes: ”Information highway proponents play a variation of the old shell game. Advocates of these new technologies, especially the heads of large media conglomerates and the research communities that are poised to reap substantial material benefits, describe a bright and shiny future, a vision glimmering with rich democratic possibilities. With practiced sleight-of-hand moves, the conglomerates use mergers, investment concentration, and privatization to drain remaining non-commercial vitality from public discussion. Let me be clear: despite the admirable efforts of public advocates demanding access for schools, communities, and individuals, these initiatives are likely to be honored only in rhetoric, not resources. Social spaces on the information superhighway will be expensive. We may, if we desire, choose an alternative technological route, but given the present political climate, these initiatives will have the limited effectiveness of the 2 a.m. public-service announcement. It is dangerous when the ground for social interaction is designed by, and has its roots in, a subset of individuals who disdain social interaction. Blithely unaware of history, complexity, conflict, or culture, computer scientists and communication engineers confidently make grand proposals about the future shape of society. Common to the community of futurists and technical enthusiasts is the belief that technology can create a space where politics and social conflict can be transcended.”
Date of prediction: January 1, 1994
Topic of prediction: Information Infrastructure
Subtopic: Universal Service
Name of publication: Computer-Mediated Communication Magazine
Title, headline, chapter name: Welcome to the Emerald City! Please Ignore the Man Behind the Curtain
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.december.com/cmc/mag/1994/nov/emerald.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Walsh, Meghan