I grew up with the internet, and I never thought about what it really was. It was just there. The internet just seemed to be a network on a computer that connected to the rest of the world. I recently learned that was not the case. Andrew Blum gave a TED Talk lecture on “What is the Internet, really?” He also appeared on NPR with Terry Gross of Fresh Air in an audio interview. I was surprised with what I found out.
I didn’t realize that the internet is a bunch of tubes that run underground and under the oceans that connect different routers and networks. The data travels as a light through one of the fiber optic wires in the tubes to the other end of the tube. The tubes connect to other tubes, and those connect to other tubes. I was also surprised to hear there are several buildings that are major connection points, which are where we get our internet service.
Underground tubes seem too old-fashioned to be the method of connecting this great technology. I assumed it had something to do with satellites or a system that picks up different signals throughout the world. I had no idea there was a physical aspect to the internet that a person could actually get his or her hands on. Finding out I had no idea what the internet involved was shocking to me.
After learning all of this, I want to know more. I would love to find out how this tube system first came about and more on how the internet was created. I’m really interested in the buildings that contain the internet connections. It would be fascinating to see where I get my internet connection, along with the path it takes to get there.
A lot of the information from the video lecture and audio interview overlapped. I found both of them to be interesting. However, they differed in a few ways, such as the presentation and the extent of the information.
The video lecture engaged the viewers effectively. Blum set up the topic really well. He gave a good comparison between the idea of the internet and the physical elements of the internet. He uses some personal experiences to show his relationship with the internet, and he related one idea of a tangible internet to a black box with a red light, shown in “The IT Crowd.” To help make sense of the information, Blum used images. He shows a picture that is a representation of the internet, which looks like a ball of millions of connecting strings. By actually showing the number of tubes around Africa, the viewer gets a sense of how many tubes are involved. He shows a picture of one of the major internet connection points in New York, a place where one of the internet tubes is plugged in and pictures of his experience watching a tube being connected. It’s always easier to believe what you’re told when there are pictures to back it up. Blum sets up the whole presentation as a story of his discovery of the internet, which adds entertainment.
However, some weaknesses of this medium exist. The video lecture doesn’t go that far into detail because he spends some time setting up the topic and the idea of the internet. There wasn’t any time for questions, so the viewers could only get the information Blum wanted to tell in the lecture. It’s also easier to get distracted watching this presentation of information because of the audience and because of a feeling that the viewer is just another member of the crowd.
The audio interview presented the information in a clear way with a lot of detail, which allows the listener to understand what the internet is. The questions asked by Gross help make pieces of information easier to understand by getting Blum to explain in more detail and to expand on things he said. The audio interview also makes it seem more personal, like they’re talking directly to the listeners. That sense of closeness pulls the listeners in and keeps them interested.
Sometimes, it’s harder to get listeners to pay attention to a longer presentation though. It also doesn’t feel as believable in this format. There are no pictures of who is speaking to know for certain that they are who they say they are or pictures of Blum’s experience seeing how the tubes are connected.
I really enjoyed learning what the internet is. It was also good for me to see the differences in video and audio presentations. This will help me understand different types of media better and can help me figure out how to present information in the best way.
The Internet: A Bunch of Tubes?
30 Sunday Sep 2012
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