Summary: Popular Notions about the Web (or Internet)

[Donald Barclay]

At the end of August, I asked list members to suggest popular notions
about the web (or Internet), particularly notions that are spread via mass
media (TV, movies, magazines, etc.). A number of list members responded,
and below is a summary of replies. I have also included in the summary
the notions that I listed in my original query. Thanks to: Miguel Acosta,
Kurt W. Wagner, Dean C. Rowan, Anne Tourney, Meg Atwater, Ken Fesser,
Elisabeth Roche, and Gretchen Witney (I hope I didn't forget anyone.)

----------------------------Articles and Websites------------------------
A few folks suggested articles or websites. These are: 

Doran, K. (1995). "The Internot: helping library patrons understand what
the Internet is not (yet)". Computers in Libraries 15(6). p22(3).

The Netizen: What Have They Been Smoking?--Since The New York Times woke
up to the Internet as a news story, the Gray Lady's been doing its
damnedest to blame cyberspace for the evils that roam the earth. (1997).
Wired 5 (9) pp. 53.

"Ten Things the Internet is Not." Internet Searching Tutorial-Training
http://www.gti.net/kwagner/training/internet.html

Internet Misconceptions
http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~gwhitney/567_misconceptions.html



--------------------------The Summary-------------------------------------

You can find anything on the web (if you are a good enough hacker).

The web is the fastest way to find information, and it's a snap to print
or download anything you find.

You can use the web to directly communicate with the leading experts in
any field.

You can use the web to get inside information you can't get anywhere else.

"Somebody" is in charge of the web.

All books, magazines, journals, etc. are either "somewhere" on the web or
will be soon.

The web is always the best place to start looking for information.

The web is the only thing you need to do any research.

If I something is done with a computer in a movie, it can be done in real
life.

You can get rich just by starting a business on the web.

You can search the entire web by typing in a few words (a.k.a. the "just
punch it up on the computer" school of information retrieval.)

Searching the web for information doesn't require any thought, nor does
evaluating the information you retrieve.

You can make the web safe for kids by using filtering software.

The web makes libraries (or at least books) obsolete.

The web is nothing but pornography.

The web is full of credit-card and other scams.

If you use the web, people can gather information about you.

You need to be a computer genius to use the web.

The web is nothing but advertisements for big corporations.

The web is a government (or corporate) conspiracy.

The web is populated entirely by crackpots, extremists, deviants, and
children.

Every time you try to use the web, nothing works.

The web is turning us into a bunch of drooling illiterates.

The is no information of any real value on the web.

The web has no place in any library.

The Web is the Internet.

The Web is Netscape.

The Web is AOL.

The Web is e-mail.

The Web is a centralized warehouse of information.

Web sites are easy to create.

Web sites are difficult to create.

A home page is a Web site.

The information one views over the Web is/isn't right there on your
computer.

Snazzy graphics/latest web technology equals a good website and/or
credible information.

Anyone can build a website (i.e., Why pay money for a web designer when my
kid can do it for free?)

Everything on the Internet (or web) is free.

The Web is revolutionary.  It will fundamentally change our lives.

The technology of the Web "liberates" information, defeats all efforts at
censorship, etc.  

"Information wants to be free." 

The Web is a new frontier full of opportunity for those who want to "farm"
it (or strip mine it, or log it, etc., choose your own metaphor). (I [Ken
Fraser] think the "frontier" metaphor is important here; it is not just a
place to make money, it is the new open space where opportunity is equal
and large corporations supposedly don't have the upper hand.)

Children have an innate ability to work the Web that adults don't.

Ken Fraser's theory of Internet-news story synergy: Take any news story.
Add the Internet somehow, and the value of the news story doubles. 

A search engine and a web browser are the same thing.

Search engines search the web in real time.

With the Internet, you can just turn on your computer and the information
is there.

-------------------------------------End of Summary-----------------------

As a side note, one of the respondents pointed out that some of the
examples of false notions I used in my original post were false only
because they were stated in absolute terms. For example: "The web is
nothing but pornographic pictures."  This criticism is valid. I think the
reason I stated some notions in absolute terms is that I've encountered so
many people who view the web in absolute terms. I think that part of the
reason people have such absolute ideas about the web is that media sound
bites about the web tend to be absolute. If you have a thirty second TV
advertising spot or a two minute TV news feature in which to present ideas
about the web, you don't have time to explore the gray areas. We've had
color TV for thirty-some years, but much of what we see on television is
still black-and-white. It's all hero or villain, savior or anti-Christ,
success or failure, with very little exploration of the middle ground that
makes up most of our existence. 


Donald A. Barclay
Coordinator of Electronic Services    always the beautiful answer
University of Houston Libraries       who asks a more beautiful question
dbarclay at uh.edu                               --e.e. cummings
www.uh.edu/~dbarclay