The creation of the Internet seems to be evolutionary from the pre-existing media and society as opposed to a revolutionary creation. This idea is similar to the argument made by Barlow which suggests cyberspace is like nature and it grows itself through our collective action, except it assumes that the formation the medium itself was natural. Thus, consider the claim that the Internet was simply the available solution to the societal consequences of the media landscape prior to their creation as opposed to a medium that revolutionized our society based on its own properties.
Turner begins his assessment of hacker culture by citing Stewart Brand who argued that personal computing and the Internet were revolutionary creations that had grown directly out of the counterculture that existed at the time. Turner critics Brand’s analysis arguing that the claim that counterculture gave rise to personal computing was too specific. To Turner, it was not simply counterculture that gave rise to the Internet but also everything from the Defense Department’s desire to create the Internet to the corporations and the services they offered (i.e. AOL). While Turner considers the various actors and influences involved in the creation of the Internet, he does not consider the existing media landscape.
Shirky highlights the importance of social interaction and even claims that our social life is literally primal. Later in his novel, Shirky references Putnam’s article “Bowling Alone.” The article explains that due to broadcast media (specifically television), social capital (habits of cooperation) was in decline. Putnam argues that television lead to the privatization of leisure time and, as a result, people were no longer spending their leisure time socializing. Shirky also explains that prior to the creation of the personal computer and the Internet, communication existed in two forms: personal communication one-to one or broadcast media one-to-many. The Internet, then, offered consumers not only more freedom to choose their own content, but also a platform to voice their own opinions and to interact directly with other consumers- making the experience feel more social and the users feel more connected to one another.
Analyzing the creation of the Internet in this way begs a number of questions. First, does it seem acceptable to make the claim that the Internet was evolutionary rather than revolutionary? Additionally, is it valid to consider the formation of social media as merely the continued evolution of our media?
Social Media and Politics Course 