On 23 Nov 98, franko wrote:
> Now hold on a minute. AOL may control 70% of the US web, but hello! the
> web happens to exist outside of the US of A. FYI AOL is nowhere in Asia
> Pacific, although they are starting up. And what market share do they have
> in Europe, the Middle East, Africa or Latin America.
As one member of the Commonwealth to another (you guys are still in it,
aren't you?), I say "Thanks for the reminder. The WORLD Wide Web does
not begin and end in the continental United States."
One of the most appealing aspects of the Web in its earlier days was its
truly transnational flavour and composition. I remember much brave and
optimistic talk about how the Web was going to dissolve international
borders, dilute ethnic enmities, and all that.
But as the Web becomes increasingly commercialized -- as profit becomes
the motivating force, rather than simple communication and exchange of
ideas -- I see more and more evidence that the big players (portals,
magazines, e-commmerce sites and so on) define the Web as the
demographic cohort equalling "US resident, age 25-40, university
educated, family income $50,000+" This cheeses me off.
The past couple of days were a good example. It seemed that every
news, portal and magazine site I visited had prominent features about
Thanksgiving this-that-and-the-other thing... well, here's a late-breaking
news flash -- of the 200-odd countries on earth, Thanksgiving was
celebrated in exactly one of them this week, the US. So Thanksgiving-
related news was utterly irrelevant to anyone else on the Web.
(No, I stand corrected: it was also "Thanksgiving" in Micronesia this week.
True fact. Also "Labour Thanksgiving" day in Japan on the 23rd.)
Yes, I realize that the United States is the economic, military and
computing heavyweight champion of the world. I know that's where the
big Web dollars are mostly spent, and where the major software
developments tend to emerge (Microsoft, Netscape, etc etc.) So I
understand that commercial content-providers are going to skew their
services towards the US market. For better or for worse.
But if this US-centric trend continues unabated, I foresee the Web
becoming the equivalent of America telelvision: a mass-entertainment
octopus dominating culture and marketing in nations around the world, at
the expense of distinctive regional culture and voices. Just the sort of
intellectual imperialism the Web (at one time) semed poised to do away
with.
Former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau made a droll comment
about Canada's proximity to the American goliath; he said it was "like
sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is
the beast, one is affected by every twitch and grunt."
So it is with the Web, IMO.
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Brent Eades, Almonte, Ontario
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Town of Almonte site: http://www.almonte.com/
Business site: http://www.federalweb.com
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