Web vs CB radio

[Steve Backs]

Earl Young wrote:
> 
>      It's not likely to be another CB radio fad.  First of all, Kris
>      Kristoferson (sp?) hasn't made bad movies about the Internet. 

Although, not starring Kris, we have already had a movie called "The 
Net" (which may just have been as bad as "Convoy"), and let us not 
forget the scene in "Single White Female" where Bridget Fonda's 
character attempts to call for help via Compuserve. Moreover, where 
would the X-files be without having the script saver, "He found it on 
the Internet" to rescue their logical dead ends.

The WWW is EXACTLY like the CB radio in that it is alive with a 
cacophony of unregulated, disorganized chatter. Like the CB, it is a 
populist forum where anyone with enough money to buy the right equipment 
can speak. What makes the WWW most like the CB is the notion that one 
may take part in it without possessing any technical, educational or 
professional qualifications. The main difference as I see it is that the 
WWW is also populated by so much worthwhile information (like channel 9 
on the CB?)- libraries, museums, tax information, CNN, ESPN, consumer 
information, etc.

Here's what my mom had to say when dad bought his first CB (he later 
"upgraded" to the 40 channel model. Sound like getting a faster modem to 
anyone?). After five minutes of listening she asked, "Why does everyone 
sound like they are missing half their teeth?" I'll bet you can find 
more than a few of those sites on the WWW, too.




-- 
Steven M. Backs
http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/staff/sbacks/