Many people say that the Internet is different from television, and that is a correct statement. I believe that there are five defining characteristics of the Internet that make it unique and different than other forms of communication Medias. According to the Adam’s and Clark’s reading, Rafaeli and Newhagen (1996) suggests qualities that define the Internet including how it is multimediated, hypertextual, (a) synchronous, interactive, and digital. These characteristics of the Internet have had foundations in other media that have come before it including books, newspapers, telephone, radio, and of course the television (Adams and Clark pg 8). Through the Internet, people are able to interact with one another, have the Internet interact with them, watch videos, listen to audio clips, play online games, and research information. The Internet is able to do and access many things that the television and other medias are not, which makes it but both very helpful and entertaining to people all over the world.
In this class, I read Adam's and Clark's chapter "How Did We Get Here?", which gives a brief history of the Internet. In the reading, it talks about how in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, the cold war and the fear of nuclear attacks led to the conceptualization of the Internet. However, not until the early 1990’s was the Internet actually opened to commercial institutions and was it able to become something that the average person could learn to use for everyday things. The Internet was a very important concept because it would allow people to communicate and interact with each other in ways that no one had ever seen before. A characteristic that makes the Internet different from the television is that it is multi-mediated. Although the television combines audio and visual forms, the Internet goes way beyond this and combines all different forms and a wide range of media. Now days, we are seeing more convergence because our television and computer are becoming one in the same. (Adams and
Another key characteristic that makes the Internet different is hypertextuality. “Hypertextuality is essentially the ability to link any type of content to any other type of content” (Adams and Clark pg 11). This means that when you are visiting a site, clicking on an underlined word may bring up a completely different document or clicking on any type of graphic may produce a sound (Adams and Clark pg 11). A great example of this is wikipedia. When someone researches say DJ Tiesto, not only can information be accessed from this page in reference to him, but people can click on other links that link them to the place he was born, the Olympic games he performed at, get a sample of the music he plays, and can even get a video of him performing. Hypertextuality also makes the web easier to navigate because it is three key implications: intertextuality, multivocality, and de-centering. These three things make a person’s internet experience much more educational and better.
Another characteristic that makes the Internet a great communication medium is interactivity. The user experience with the Internet is a lot different than with any other media. With television and radio, content comes to them. With the Internet, ability to go looking for content that you want gives the person a lot more control than with the television and the radio (http://techdirt.com/articles/20060406/0326237.shtml). People can choose to interact with other people through instant messages, chat rooms or emails, and people can purchase items off the Internet. In both of these instances, people receive interaction which is not something other Medias contain.
Another characteristic of the Internet is (a) synchronous. On the Internet, people are able to communication at the same time. This includes instant messages, video conferences, e-mails, and web pages. Both televisions and telephones have the capability of being (a) synchronous, but both are augmented by the use of answering machines and VCR’s (Adams and Clark pg 14). This is an important characteristic because I would say this is one of the more popular qualities that people use because it is efficient and fun at the same time.
Last, but not least, the Internet is digital. What’s important about this quality is that information is now transported electronically. This makes it less time consuming and inexpensive. With the Internet being digital, it has had a huge impact on the way people use communication. Data can now be coded and even manipulated to a smaller size so it can be downloaded faster (Adams and Clark pgs 15-17).
The Internet has truly impacted the communication aspect of the world. Messages are able to be relayed at faster speeds and which has made talking to loved ones, friends, employer/employees, and teachers/students so much easier and helpful. The abundance of information people can access on the Internet is astronomical. Being able to watch videos, see graphics, talk to friends, send emails, talk in chat rooms, blog, play interactive games, listen to music, and research information have made communication in the 21st century such a huge improvement then when it was first introduced in the 1950’s.
Bibliography
Adams and Clark (Chapters 1 and 2)
http://techdirt.com/articles/20060406/0326237.shtml
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