Digital Mythologies: The Hidden Complexities of the Internet

By Thomas S. Valovic

Surf the web. Ride the information highway. Log on to the future. Corporate ad campaigns like these have become pervasive in the 1990s. You're either online, or you're falling behind the times-at least, that's what the media tells us. Ever since the 1990s, when the Internet gained widespread popularity, it has been heralded as one of the best things ever to happen to technology and communications. Commentators expected it to revolutionize how we communicate, do business, and educate our children. Conversely, other pundits have vehemently attacked this technology. Naysayers of "cyberlife" emerged with their warnings of how the Net provides an uncensored, round-the-clock venue for pornography, for inaccurate, simplified information, and is rife with opportunities to violate our right to privacy. In Digital Mythologies, Thomas Valovic hopes to raise the level of discussion by giving a full and balanced picture of how the Net affects our lives. Digital Mythologies, a collection of Valovic's essays, asks hard questions about where computer and communications technology is taking us. Through anecdotes drawn from his experiences as former editor-in-chief of Telecommunications magazine, the author gives readers an insider's peek behind the scenes of the Internet industry. He explores the underlying social and political implications of the Internet and its associated technologies, based on his contention that the cyberspace experience is far more complex than is commonly assumed. Valovic explores these hidden complexities, and points to fascinating connections between the Internet and our contemporary culture.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813527546
• ISBN13: 9780813527543
• Release Date: December 1999
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Length: 219 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Digital Mythologies

Digital Mythologies: The Hidden Complexities of the Internet is a collection of essays compiled by Thomas Valovic, editor in chief of Telecommunications (the magazine). In 1991, Valovic published an article for Telecommunications dealing with the Internet and how this unknown technology at the time would greatly impact the commercial market. Back in 1991, there were basically two types of users on the Internet: Defense contractors and Academics. Valovic's vision had seen the Internet shifting from a behind the scenes technology into a technology that would be widely available to public users. Little did Valovic know that this very article would eventually be a stepping stone to a digital revolution. Valovic covers a lot of issues dealing with the Internet such as Information Euphoria, Information Ennui, Web Conversations, Information Bombing, Technological Dependence and a lot more. While reading the book, there is a sense that Valovic perceives most users to be in Information Euphoria. Many of these users believe that all-important information may be found on the Internet. Valovic then counters Information Euphoria with Information Ennui. Information Ennui discusses the dark side of information technology such as Information overload and isolating one's self from the "real" world. After users go through Information Euphoria and Ennui they will eventually attain information wisdom. I totally agree with this mindset on Information technology. Although information technology has advanced tremendously in the past 5 years, the issues surrounding the use of technology are becoming quite complex. There is a keyword that Valovic had mentioned in the book and that keyword is experimentation. We in society are still learning our way through cyberspace. With more computers being connected to the Internet, there will be greater diversity and maybe greater than the Information technology problems that exist today. Many users are so in awe of the physical technology that most tends to ignore the social affects of technology. In my opinion, many users are slaves to the technology. Users want faster and better featured technology because it may make life a lot easier, but in actuality technology is making things a lot more complex. A lot more complex for new users who know nothing about computers or how to navigate while on the net. In my opinion society should be in full command of technology. There is no sense in coming up with faster and more complex technology if a majority of users cannot use it. I enjoyed most of the essays, particularly the essays on Information overload and quality of information. Right now, there are a billion web pages on the Internet. With that much information at our fingertips finding accurate information it would be hard to distinguish relative information to trash. The advent of the e-mail has given business users as well as residential users multiple communication options. Although there are multiple communicative connectio

Digital Mythologies

Is the Internet a technological system that creates a numbed populace, living in the "here and now" without regard to the body of human knowledge that precedes them? In a series of well thought out essays, Valovic (media theorist and former editor in chief of Telecommunications magazine)endeavors to go beyond the present Internet euphoria by probing the basic tenets of the promoters of the "digital culture." These promoters, writers and editors affiliated with Wired magazine and Mondo 2000 spearheaded the irreverent electronic lifestyle that is cyberculture. The media and commercial interests have picked up and amplified the same hype, touting cyberculture and the profound changes it would bring to every aspect of our lives. According to Valovic, these acclamations are overused and lack depth. Promoters argue that the Net has an equalizing affect that strips away biases and is truly democratic representation. Valovic counters that the Net is filled with opinions void of context. He adds that hierarchies, power structures and spin doctors can all be found on the Net as well. Further, this technocracy seems to apply to a very narrow slice of the society since the majority of the people have no access to technology at all. Believers pose that the Net will create a new knowledge base; this implies that history will be jettisoned because of its "useless" undigitized state. And if we have no history, how are decisions made? Do we become, as Valovic suggests, a kind of knee-jerk society that reacts without reflection or deliberation. Is this a premonition of how electronic democracy will work? Media conglomerates created by recent deregulation would surely seek to impact consumers, public opinion, and votes. Might they want to involve theirselves in a bit of "managed reality" as well, especially if it would benefit their bottom line? According to Valovic the mediasphere that we are constantly exposed to is re-sequencing our value system and stripping away our code of ethics. Further erosion to values is caused by the blurring of work and play created by the constant presence of portable telecommunication devices. And what of the alienation created by cyber living? Is it really paradise or the ultimate denial of responsibility for real life issues concerning societal needs and the environment? In Valovic's schema for the adaptation of any new technology most of us are definitely in the first stage, information euphoria. The second stage is information ennui and the last stage, information wisdom. This last is where we might reside once we have pondered the questions and studied the ideas posed by this author. His mix of technology, theory, philosophy, and humanism along with his knowledge of the Internet and its players make for a thought-provoking read. I highly recommend it to all who seek the human side of the virtual revolution.