If this ain't a community, I don't know what is...and it's better (more honest) than a lot of RL communities. (Not that it's perfect, mind you.)
People do everything online that they do offline...they just do it differently. That includes forming communities. so stop judging virtual communities by physical norms. that does nothing but rob us of the wonder and excitement of what we're all working towards and building.
True, there are aspects to RL experience that can't be matched on line. But the reverse is also true. Plus, not all communities, online or off, are equal.
Besides, virtual communities have only existed for 20 - 30 years. Real ones, for thousands, tens of thousands, or millions of years (depending on your point of reference). Give us a little time, heh?
I am astonished. Why is yelling light so much harder (or harder at all) than walking over to the lightswitch?
The more I think about yr post, the weirder and less convincing it seems. What on earth do you mean by "internet on my fridge." There were no internet-enabled fridges till recently, and maybe none in the US right now. If you did the wiring yourself--WHY in the absence of apps?
journalists love to write about zillionnaires' homes, but the middle class and poor people have way more to gain through the new technologies. Larry Ellison can hire servants to do everything he needs, or send the private jet (like Elvis) for a pb and banana sandwich. most of us can't.
the more amazing story (and why can't the press GET it?!?!?!) is how even today's technologies improve life for ordinary people. a sensor that tells old people when there's mail in their mailbox so that they don't have to risk breaking a hip crossing a snowy street unnecessarily impresses me more than all the zillion-dollar bachelor pads. *That's* the real story, and that's the one that the media should be covering.
Technocopian1
Slashdot Mirror
If this ain't a community, I don't know what is...and it's better (more honest) than a lot of RL communities. (Not that it's perfect, mind you.) People do everything online that they do offline...they just do it differently. That includes forming communities. so stop judging virtual communities by physical norms. that does nothing but rob us of the wonder and excitement of what we're all working towards and building. True, there are aspects to RL experience that can't be matched on line. But the reverse is also true. Plus, not all communities, online or off, are equal. Besides, virtual communities have only existed for 20 - 30 years. Real ones, for thousands, tens of thousands, or millions of years (depending on your point of reference). Give us a little time, heh?
I am astonished. Why is yelling light so much harder (or harder at all) than walking over to the lightswitch? The more I think about yr post, the weirder and less convincing it seems. What on earth do you mean by "internet on my fridge." There were no internet-enabled fridges till recently, and maybe none in the US right now. If you did the wiring yourself--WHY in the absence of apps?
journalists love to write about zillionnaires' homes, but the middle class and poor people have way more to gain through the new technologies. Larry Ellison can hire servants to do everything he needs, or send the private jet (like Elvis) for a pb and banana sandwich. most of us can't. the more amazing story (and why can't the press GET it?!?!?!) is how even today's technologies improve life for ordinary people. a sensor that tells old people when there's mail in their mailbox so that they don't have to risk breaking a hip crossing a snowy street unnecessarily impresses me more than all the zillion-dollar bachelor pads. *That's* the real story, and that's the one that the media should be covering. Technocopian1