It is perhaps not by coincidence that the approach of the third millennium should be heralded by a new form of human behavior. This new form of human behavior is a technological John-the-Baptist … Significance in history is not the product of isolated events but the result of convergence among a multiplicity of forces. It is the thesis of this work that two isolated events – the end and beginning of a millennium, and the rise of mass participation in uncensored bi-directional mass communication – the Internet, will conjugate in such a way to give birth to a new form of human behavior and with novel behavior, a new form of human consciousness – the uncensored self.
Predictor: Strangelove, Michael
Prediction, in context:In a 1994 essay for Computer-Mediated Communication magazine, Michael Strangelove, publisher of the Internet Business Journal and the author of “How to Advertise on the Internet,” writes about the anthropology of cyberspace, exploring, as he says, “the emergence of a new type of self I have called the uncensored self and looking into the possible social dynamics that will arise from the convergence of this new type of self with the approaching new millennium.” Strangelove writes: ”It is perhaps not by coincidence that the approach of the third millennium should be heralded by a new form of human behavior. This new form of human behavior is a technological John-the-Baptist – a voice, a chorus of millions of voices crying out in the wilderness of these present times, this wasteland of isolated selves we call modernity. This voice was first heard by most individuals in 1993 and immediately entrenched itself in the landscape of popular culture. This voice, this prophet of the third millennium, this technological John-the-Baptist has a name and its name is the Internet. The Internet is not about technology, it is not about information, it is about communication – people talking with each other, people exchanging e-mail, people doing the low ASCII dance. The Internet is mass participation in fully bi-directional, uncensored mass communication. Communication is the basis, the foundation, the radical ground and root upon which all community stands, grows, and thrives. The Internet is a community of chronic communicators. Significance in history is not the product of isolated events but the result of convergence among a multiplicity of forces. It is the thesis of this work that two isolated events – the end and beginning of a millennium, and the rise of mass participation in uncensored bi-directional mass communication – the Internet, will conjugate in such a way to give birth to a new form of human behavior and with novel behavior, a new form of human consciousness – the uncensored self.”
Date of prediction: January 1, 1994
Topic of prediction: General, Overarching Remarks
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: Computer-Mediated Communication
Title, headline, chapter name: The Internet, Electric Gaia and the Rise of the Uncensored Self
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.december.com/cmc/mag/1994/sep/self.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Vellucci, Amanda