The Net - What it Really Is

I've been listening to some cyberpunk novels lately, and it's caused me to meditate on the net, and its true nature.

The net is not the Internet -- that's just one component of it. The net is also television, with myriad cable channels. The net is phone service, both land line and cell phones. The net is wire transfers between banks, ATM and Debit cards, and even checks. The net is magazines, journals, and even books. (not just the online kind) It's CD's, DVED's, Laserdiscs, Vinyl Records, and cassettes, and yes, even 8-tracks and open reel tapes. And more importantly, it is the culture and societal paradigms that have grown up around these easy methods of moving information around between people who may or may not be in close proximity to each other.

The net is the interconnected web of information systems that permeate our lives. And since it encompasses anyone who isn't either Amish or living in a cabin somewhere, (and it even touches some of them) it's an all encompassing infosphere that we all participate in, and we don't need a computer to interact with it.

Think on that for a bit and see how it affects how you view your place in the universe.