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108
Chapter 9
The Internet and New Technologies: The Media
Converge
CHAPTER OUTLINE
Chapter Opener: The Internet has changed the world, revolutionizing and encompassing all
forms of mass communication—not replacing them but converging them. However, this
connectedness is not without risks to privacy and security, as is illustrated by the example of
WikiLeaks.
I. The Early History of the Internet
The Cold War prompted the United States to spend money on research that eventually
developed the Internet.
A. Military Functions, Civic Roots. The Internet began in the 1960s as a Defense
Department communications system called ARPAnet.
II. The Evolution of the Internet: Going Commercial, Getting Social, Making Meaning
By 2005, the Web had evolved from e-mail and Web page display to a powerful
commercial and social network.
A. The Commercialization of the Internet. As the Web became a mass medium, it
quickly became commercialized.
1. The World Begins to Browse. HTML code that could be read by all computers
and Web browsers that enabled better navigation made the Web accessible to
mass audiences for the first time.
2. Users Link in through Telephone and Cable Wires. The first connections to the
B.
The Web Gets Social. Multiple platforms allow the creation and sharing of all
manner of media content.
1.
Social Networking Sites. The popularity of social media like Facebook,
Twitter, and Pinterest, combined with an explosion in mobile devices, has
made our relationship with the Internet one that is largely managed through
apps or platforms for specific functions.
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4.
Content Communities. YouTube is the most well-known example of a site
built for sharing content.
C.
The Next Era: The Semantic Web. The next stage of the Internet involves a
continuing evolution of our relationship with it, enabling computers and people to
work in cooperation using tools like Apple’s Siri and the Internet of things.
III.
The Economics of the Internet
No one owns the Internet, which is a medium characterized by few regulations and a
strong entrepreneurial ethic.
A.
Ownership: Controlling the Internet. Several companies have emerged as the
leading forces that seek to “control” the Internet.
1.
Microsoft. With early roots in software, Microsoft was forced to develop a
digital strategy to remain competitive.
2.
Google. Established in 1998, this search engine has found multiple ways to
change its business model to compete with changes in technology.
B.
Advertising. Technology has made it possible to reach individuals through targeted
advertising, making the user experience unique.
C. The Noncommercial Web. Despite powerful commercial forces, the Internet
continues to be a participatory medium.
1. Open-Source Software. Independent software creators like Linux persist in
developing alternative options to software developed by large companies like
Microsoft.
IV. Security and Appropriateness on the Internet
When you do things like sign up for an e-mail account or shop online, you give away
personal information, which is something that you don’t need to do to use other media.
This characteristic of the Internet raises concerns about security and content.
A. Information Security: What’s Private? The Internet can be a treacherous place.
•
Government Surveillance. Government agencies around the world have
used the Internet to gather huge amounts of data on citizens.
•
Online Fraud. The Internet can be a conduit for identity theft and phishing.
• Unethical Data Gathering. E-commerce sites often get customers’ personal
information using cookies and spyware.
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B.
Personal Safety: Online Predators, Spreading Hate, and Deciding What’s
V.
The Internet in a Democratic Society
Some say the Internet is the most democratic social network ever conceived, but others
say it has created division between those who can afford to use it and those who can’t.
A. Access: Closing the Digital Divide. As the Internet expands as a global network, a
key issue is the digital divide, whereby the rich have access to the latest media
technology and the poor do not.
B.
Ownership and Customization. The biggest threat to the Internet’s democratic
potential may be the increasing power of commercial interests. Americans are
LECTURE TOPICS
1.
Describe the developmental, entrepreneurial, and mass medium stages as they relate to
the Internet. Discuss why some refer to the 1990s as “the golden age of the Internet.”
2.
Discuss how the Internet is different from other mass media: To what extent are we
“users” rather than “consumers”? Explore how the “free” nature of the Internet comes
into conflict with corporate interests and what business models have worked for
companies seeking profits on the Internet.
3. Explore the impact of the Internet on democracy. Discuss the consequences of the
LECTURE SPIN-OFFS
The Early History of the Internet
• President Bill Clinton pushed Internet use in his 1997 State of the Union address (which
was carried live over the Internet for the first time). Calling the Internet “a new town
square,” “a teacher of all subjects,” “a connection to all cultures,” and “a necessity,”
Clinton called for a computer in every home over the next decade. The push to
computerize the United States has certainly been a boon for the computer industry,
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• Schools today are finding increasingly creative ways to use computers after initial
struggles to figure out how to incorporate them in the curriculum. For example, a math
class in a San Francisco middle school is requiring students to use their iPads to create a
catering budget for a movie and make a presentation for a bid for the job. Students have
• Among the fastest-growing applications of Internet technology are closed systems
called intranets. These password-protected Webs are used for communication within
companies and organizations. How do these portals work in today’s mobile
environment?
Further Reading:
Valerie Bolden-Barrett, “Mobile Functionality May Be the Key to Making
Company Intranets More Appealing,” HR Dive, June 19, 2017,
Paul Swaddle, “Here’s How and Why Mobiles Are Making the Intranet
• Sociologists twenty years ago predicted that new technologies would help boost work
productivity, allow for three-day weekends, and increase leisure time overall. Instead,
people began to bring their laptops and cell phones home, and they installed home
Internet connections, creating instant access to office work at all times. In effect, they
began to use technology to increase their work hours.
Further Reading:
“The Internet of Things Will Define the Workplace of the Future,” European CEO,
Duncan White, “The Workplace of the Future,” The Business Times, July 5, 2017,
The Evolution of the Internet: Going Commercial, Getting Social, Making Meaning
• Here are four myths about commercial search engines that the industry has been very
good at sustaining:
1. Search engines are impartial information tools.
2. Search engines search the entire Web, gleaning the most relevant results.
3. Search engines vary greatly, thus offering choice and a competitive
marketplace.
4. Search engines are the only place to go for relevant information on the Web.
• Search engines were once considered a failed business idea because they were only a
conduit to other pages. In other words, they lacked stickiness; no one stayed long
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enough to see the advertising. Then search engine portals began experimenting with
sponsored links, a list of two or three paying sites that appear above the actual search
results. Because sponsored links are so highly targeted (they directly relate to the search
terms that users type in), they became enormously profitable and are some of the hottest
properties on the Web. As a result, commercial search engines have experienced a
gradual commercialization, hardly impartial information tools. Instead of “searching the
entire Web,” search engines intentionally search through a greater number of “paying”
sites. Moreover, because only a few search engines power almost all others (Google,
Yahoo!, and Bing) and because these search engines promote the most popular “known”
• Explain how the Internet converges with other technologies, and discuss how these new
technologies and social media can potentially transform businesses, institutions such as
schools or government, neighborhoods and cities, and finally our own homes. Discuss
the possibilities and limitations of newer technology like smartphones and tablets. Help
students understand the distinctions among various terms, such as Internet, Web, WiFi,
Bluetooth, media/medium, platform, and technology.
• Understanding the way in which people interact with the Internet goes beyond the
content available on the Internet. Arguably just as important are the tools that people
use to go online. Discuss how those options have changed since the mid-1990s and what
• Mobile phones are multipurpose devices at the center of digital convergence. For
example, they are now used as money exchange devices. Retailers can turn a mobile
phone or tablet into a point of sale (a digital cash register) with Square, a credit card
reader that plugs into a mobile device. Enabling consumers to use their mobile phones
to exchange money without involving credit card companies and their high fees is the
next goal in digital transactions. Cash remains the most secure medium for information
security, though, because it contains no personal information at all.
• Apple has released new versions/variations of iPhones every year since the first iPhone
was sold in 2007. Here is the chronology of iPhones with the dates of their release:
iPhone 3G in 2008, iPhone 3GS in 2009, iPhone 4 in 2010, iPhone 4s in 2011, iPhone 5
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The Economics of the Internet
Some more facts about Google:
• Google data centers:
• Although you could find it on Google Maps, Google doesn’t advertise its global
network of computers. In one location—a barren stretch of desert along the Oregon-
Washington border—a single computer complex stretches over two football fields.
The multibillion-dollar “factory” of computer power handles such an enormous
number of search queries that two four-story-high cooling plants work twenty-four
hours a day to keep the heat down.
• In October 2006, Google acquired YouTube, paying $1.65 billion (and causing people
to jokingly refer to the acquisition as “GooTube”). This acquisition was no joke,
though; it sent waves through the media industry. The deal started an online video
entertainment and copyright war between Google and the old media establishment,
including Viacom, Disney, and Time Warner.
• The problem that media companies have with YouTube is unique: They disdain
losing revenue when their content is posted on YouTube. On the other hand,
YouTube’s massive reach can lead to increased exposure to their content,
particularly with younger consumers. Saturday Night Live, for example, has
• A few questions to ask students about Google’s role as an access point for information:
•
What is Google: an advertising firm or a search firm?
•
What does it mean that Google is a publicly traded company?
•
If certain searchable information becomes threatening to Google, couldn’t Google
Net Neutrality
Discuss the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to approve net neutrality rules
(under Title II). Note the different perspectives among Internet companies, consumers, and
media activists regarding the FCC’s February 2015 net neutrality decision. Then, discuss the
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latest developments, including what has occurred since President Trump nominated (and the
Senate confirmed) Ajit Pai as Chairman of the FCC.
Further Reading:
Devin Coldewey, "Senate Confirms Ajit Pai as FCC Chairman,” TechCrunch,
The Noncommercial Web
Linux is Microsoft’s main rival for PC operating systems. Because Linux is open-source
software, it allows programmers worldwide to participate in a major computer development.
Digital Archiving
The Wayback Machine, a key component of the Internet Archive, was launched in April
1996. Its millions of computer codes, called “bots,” automatically search the Internet and
copy content. The bots copy the entire Web (a task that in 2005 took about two months).
Security and Appropriateness on the Internet
• Discuss the trade-off between privacy and personalization. Services like My Yahoo!
offer personalization to their users; that is, they allow users to organize Internet
information according to their specific preferences. Users visiting their personalized My
Yahoo! page, for example, can retrieve specific types of news, weather reports, sports
scores, horoscopes, television schedules, and state lottery results as well as their favorite
• Almost all companies promise not to sell their consumer data, but they do not mention
that they sometimes rent such information, sending messages to people on its list on
behalf of a third party.
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Further Reading:
Lisa Vaas, “Yahoo Email Privacy Lawsuit Settled,” Naked Security, September 1,
•
Online harassment is a major concern. A 2017 study by the Pew Research Center found
that harassment “is now a ‘feature’ of life online for many Americans . . . 41% of
Americans have been personally subjected to harassing behavior online, and an even
larger share (66%) has witnessed these behaviors directed at others.”
MEDIA LITERACY DISCUSSIONS AND EXERCISES
IN BRIEF: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES THEN AND NOW
Describe the information technologies that your parents or their peers use at work. Describe
the information technologies that your grandparents used at work. Describe the information
IN DEPTH: THE WEB AS A UNIVERSE OF KNOWLEDGE
Pre-Exercise Question: Do search engines supply researchers with a “universe of
knowledge”?
This media literacy exercise is designed to help students evaluate search engine
research. Divide your class into an even number of teams and assign every two teams the
same research topic. The research topics should cover a wide range of subjects and ideas
and could be related to textbook chapters. Examples are Plato, Johannes Gutenberg, the
Lindbergh baby kidnap-murder case, Charlie Chaplin, obesity, and media convergence.
Within a set time, one group will research the topic using all library facilities, excluding
search engines, while the other group will research the topic using only Google, Yahoo!, or
Bing. Ask students to return with a brief annotated description of the best fifteen or twenty
sources they discover.
1. Description. Ask your students to present and describe the materials they have
researched, perhaps starting with the search engine group followed by the library group.
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paper if Web material cannot be considered permanent? Did this research experience
vary by topic? How did the breadth of both searches compare?
4.
Evaluation. Is it feasible to do legitimate research via search engines? How comfortable
do you feel about relying solely on search engines for research? How legitimate are
Web sources? How can you tell? Are there subject areas in which the Web is clearly
IN DEPTH: INFORMATION SECURITY: WHAT’S PRIVATE?
(Note: A version of this activity is now available on LaunchPad for Media Essentials. See
the Media Literacy Practice Activity for this chapter.)
1. Description. Interview a sample of people about their online privacy. Has their privacy
been violated through their Internet use? Have they divulged personal information to
gain access to certain Web sites? Do they enter contests, play games, download files, or
register on sites that require them to enter their e-mail address or disclose specific
interests? Have they noticed Internet advertising that targets their personal tastes? Do
they receive spam e-mail?
2. Analysis. What sorts of patterns emerge from your interviews? Is online privacy
consistently violated in particular ways? Are there certain strategies for maintaining
privacy on the Internet? Are the interviewees concerned about their online privacy?
IN BRIEF: APPROPRIATENESS: WHAT SHOULD BE ONLINE?
This “think-pair-share” exercise focuses on the content of the Internet.
1. Think. On your own, spend two to three minutes writing down what kind of content—if
any—you think should not be on the Internet.
2. Pair. Compare notes with your neighbor. Are you concerned about what children might
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CLASSROOM MEDIA RESOURCES
VIDEOS/DVDS/CDS
Catfish (2010, 87 minutes). Reality thriller that reveals the realities of Internet intrigue.
Deep Web (2015, 90 minutes). The rise of the decentralized, encrypted web. Directed by
Alex Winter.
History of the Internet (1993, 6 minutes). This excerpt from the syndicated television show
Computer Chronicles discusses how the Internet started at ARPA; introduces one of the
first Internet search tools, Gopher; and displays the first Web browser, Mosaic. The
video is a step back into the 1990s and the clunky interfaces that today would be
intolerable. Hear how people talk about “Internet” (not the Internet) when discussing
The Internet’s Own Boy (2014, 105 minutes). Story of programming prodigy Aaron Swartz.
Life Hackers (2017, 55 minutes). Cybersecurity experts seek guidance from innovators
The Roots of “Anonymous,” the Infamous Hacking Community (September 3, 2014, 6:57
minutes). A PBS NewsHour segment on the origins of “Anonymous.” Watch online:
We Are Legion: The Story of Hacktivists (2012, 93 minutes). Explore the “hacktivist”
community.
We Steal Secrets (2013, 130 minutes.) A documentary about WikiLeaks directed by Alex
Gibney.
WEB SITES
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FURTHER READING
Battello, John. The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and
Transformed Our Culture. New York: Penguin/Portfolio, 2005.
Berners-Lee, Tim. Weaving the Web: The Original Design and Ultimate Destiny of the
World Wide Web. New York: HarperCollins, 2000.
Denning, Peter J., ed. The Invisible Future: The Seamless Integration of Technology into
Everyday Life. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002.
Grossman, Lawrence K., and Newton N. Minow. A Digital Gift to the Nation: Fulfilling the
Promise of the Digital and Internet Age. New York: Century Foundation, 2001.
Kalathil, Shanthi, and Taylor C. Boas. Open Networks, Closed Regimes: The Impact of the
Internet on Authoritarian Rule. Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace, 2003.
Negroponte, Nicholas. Being Digital. New York: Knopf, 1995.
Newman, Nathan. Net Loss: Internet Prophets, Private Profits, and the Costs to Community.
