Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
3
Networked
Communications
Lo, soul, seest thou not God's purpose from the first?
The earth to be spann'd, connected by network,
The races, neighbors, to marry and be given in marriage,
The oceans to be cross'd, the distant brought near,
The lands to be welded together.
—-WALT WHITMAN, “Passage to India”
DURING GOVERNMENT MEETINGS IN WASHINGTON, DC, it's common for those sitting
around the conference table to bow their heads. They're not praying—they're using their
smartphones. “You'll have half the participants [texting] each other as a submeeting,
with a running commentary on the primary meeting,” reports Philippe Reines, who
served as senior advisor to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton [1].
Musician Ken Stringfellow of the Posies uses the Web to interact with his fans. “I log
in to Facebook, and in like 30 seconds, I have like 50 people in my chat windows. And I
answer their questions: 'Oh, yeah, you wanna get that record? I've got a couple of those
in stock.' That kind of stuff ” [2].
According to a recent Gallup poll, more American adults get their news from the
Internet than from newspapers. In a 2013 survey, 21 percent of adults said they get most
of their news from the Internet, compared to only 9 percent who said they rely upon
