death, community and the Internet

Kristina Lerman (kris@LIMBEX.COM)
Mon, 22 Jul 1996 17:16:36 -0700

Two recent experiences of death and response to it got me thinking about
community and the Internet. A week ago drunk driver killed my friend. After
a two day period of shock and disbelief, a mailing list was created so that
friends in the area and around the world could keep up with developments and
get the information. I was at the funeral Friday, seeing some old friends,
and meeting others for the first time, and I felt a part of the community,
the community formed through the shared experience of grief.

A few of days ago, NYTimes featured a picture of Netscape Navigator showing
a page created as a tribute to the people on the ill-fated TWA flight. The
Web master said that his site has been getting 100,000 hits a day. It was
amazing to me how people quickly flocked to the place where they could share
their grief, even if it is passively.

Which brings to mind another thought. The Net (people + network of
computers) is undergoing a transformation, or probably has already. It is
no longer a static "space", but a dynamic entity, an "organism" of sorts,
that is capable of quickly responding to situations and crises
(notwithstanding IBM's and MSNBC's failure to keep Oyimpic and TWA
information up-to-date on their sites). I believe it is time to change the
language (metaphors and models) we use to discuss the Internet to reflect
that change. Keeping the "Internet as space" metaphor is detrimental to
Internet's progress toward becoming an active, dynamic entity.

Kristina

---
Kristina Lerman                         Limbex Corp.
kris@limbex.com                         13160 Mindanao Way, Suite 234
(310) 309-4281 x4506                    Marina del Rey, CA 90292
http://tweedledee.ucsb.edu/~kris/       FAX: (310) 309-4282