The word that is incised on a page in a book has to be put there by a large institution. Sitting between the author of that word and the reader of that word is a huge mediating organism made up of organization and capital. And all that mediation has a great effect on that word. But between the word that I type into my computer and e-mail to you and the word that comes out on your end there’s nothing but the digital transformation taking place. It is not mediated. It’s as intimate as it possibly could be without me whispering it into your ear.
Predictor: Barlow, John Perry
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 HarperÕs Magazine article, four experts on the impact of modern computing and telecommunications technology debate the effects of such technology on modern society. The article includes comments by John Perry Barlow, one of the founders of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a group formed to protect civil liberties in cyberspace. Barlow says: ÒPart of the reason that I’m guardedly optimistic about these new technologies is that the word that is incised on a page in a book has to be put there by a large institution. Sitting between the author of that word and the reader of that word is a huge mediating organism made up of organization and capital. And all that mediation has a great effect on that word. But between the word that I type into my computer and e-mail to you and the word that comes out on your end there’s nothing but the digital transformation taking place. It is not mediated. It’s as intimate as it possibly could be without me whispering it into your ear.Ó
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Communication
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: Harper's Magazine
Title, headline, chapter name: What Are We Doing On-line? A Debate on the Social Consequences of Online Communications
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Pages 35 - 46
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne