Someone is wrong on (and about) the internet

Ahh, the internet, the great equalizer where everyone’s voice counts… Being in Silicon Valley, I sometimes forget the rest of the country doesn’t necessarily live and breathe new gadgets and online experiences. That being said, I also don’t understand when people misconstrue what the internet is all about. A recent article on slate.com by Marshall Herskovitz, TV and film producer, has an interesting outlook that I couldn’t leave alone. Here is his introductory pitch to explaining the internet experience…

So I took a break, because I’ve never been happy serving anyone. And went to the Internet where I could be free. At least that’s what everyone told me. The Internet is the “Great Democratizer” where anything goes! You can do whatever you want! Uh—not exactly.Why? Well, let’s look more closely at what the Internet actually is. If, as they say, it’s a vast sea of information, the first thing to realize is that this sea is only accessible from certain harbors called browsers, like Internet Explorer or Safari. And, extending the metaphor further, all the information on this sea is contained in boats called Web sites. And then you begin to understand the problem. It turns out that this sea is invisible to us, untouchable, unusable. Our relationship to the Internet is entirely made up of our relationship to browsers and Web sites. And you know what? They suck.

They’re boring, one-dimensional, and unoriginal. Who decided that all Web sites should have a top nav bar and be rectangular in layout? Who decided they should abdicate any sense of design and be white and clean and uncluttered? No one did, and that’s the point. It just happened, because the creators of the Internet were thinking about other things.

From this (and the rest of his rant), I can only surmise that Mr. Herskovitz must not understand the internet. Maybe someone should create an user manual to help new users out.

I think the way Hollywood portrays the internet in movies and TV has led to some interesting misconceptions and confusion to what the internet is about and how people interact with it. The reality may not have the futuristic interfaces or 1-click access to anything (DMV information, Pentagon restricted access, etc…), but it’s still pretty damn cool. I can’t imagine life without full connectivity and the ability to learn and discover to my heart’s content. The internet brings walls down and brings people together. I look forward to what the future holds and enjoy what it provides today.