POLL: Is The Internet A Fad?

7/27/02 | Sams Bees

[SamBees]

Thats the question! Is the Internet a passing fad, or something that has yet to gain its full potential?

I speak to people everyday who are mainstream and they say that they have ZERO interest in the Net.

I don't agree with them, but thats not the point. The thing that I am seeing is that people are tired of the Internet, and they are ignoring it. It blew up a huge bubble early on, but as with most things that are highly inflated, it has had too much exposure, and people have grown tired of it. , or so it seems.

Of course, government and industry would like to force the net on Americans, and for many reasons which I won't go into at this time, so there are forces that are trying to make the Net just another aspect of life, but that effort seems to have failed. People seem to be losing interest in the Internet.

Why is this happening. As I mentioned, the Net came on like any other fad, and that turns off a lot of people. But, aside from that, there are two absolutely huge problems with the Net:

1. Content

2. Access speed.

3. Price of access.

Content is very lacking on the net. Yes, there are many reference materials here, and if you're doing homework, this is the place to hang, but real, serious content that has broad appeal is not here. And, what is here is dying by the day.

Access speed is horrible! Most people are using 56k dial-up accounts. How can you rapidly access great content, even if it were here, using a 56k modem? What junk! So, even if great content were here, it would take you forever at pull it down to your machine, and many people do not want to sit and wait for your page to load!

But, if you're willing to PAY big bucks, you can get high speed access from your cable provider, or DSl from your phone company, and there are a few wireless alternatives out there, but be ready to pay through the nose for mere Net access.

All of these are contributing to the demise of the Net, or to it becoming little more than a passing fad left to nerds, school kids, and government spooks.

Where do you stand on the issue?

[Illbay]

...nerd...

Oops. You mispelled a word.

[weikel]

Hmmm?

[mo]

The net as a real force in business will not grown until it deals with the time factor of transaction. All the security, identity issues involved in completeing a credit card transaction @56k are laborious. It has to be faster and easier than a 1-800 call and should as facile and anonymous as walking down a Main Street and stepping into a store for a cash purchase.

[GeekDejure]

dit dit dit...dot dot dot...dit dot dit....

Sheeesh ... what a waste of bandwidth !!! di di dit...da da dah...di da dit... better !!! ;-))

[Bobalu]

No the internet is not just a fad

It is in its infancy right now though..and is exeriencing a few 'teething' pains, but this will pass.

I see wireless access as the next really big thing... in 2-5 yrs nearly everyone living in a non.3rd.world nation will carry devices 24/7 that connect them to the net wirelessly.

I think that in a few years the cost of high speed net access will begin to go down.... mostly due to innovative last-mile solutions and grass roots wireless network access.

Also the business sector will do all in its power to reduce or remove the cost of using wireless access devices... they want us all available online 24/7 so they can deliver instant spam.

The low-cost wireless web access devices will totally spoil the current business models for cell phones... they will mostly go into bankruptcy as people decide they can get by with the free 2-way audio features on their web devices.

As the costs of web access go down we will see almost everything get connected to the web.... TV's, ovens, garage doors, hats, glasses, toasters, u.name.it and someone will put it on the net :-)... we will have to go to an expanded IP address scheme otherwise we will run out of available numbers.

20+ years or so down the road the net will begin to expand into areas that many will not be comfortable with... nano-tech will likely enable easy direct connection with the human body. The beginnings of a virtual reality type connection between people and machines... and direct body to body connections over a high speed network.

[another cricket]

I have often wondered it a cash card like a telephone card would be possible or practical. You could buy it the same way you would buy a Money Order but use it to make purchases like a credit card. Since there is no identifying information it would be quite anonymous. The seller would be assured of his money and the buyer of his privacy.

a.cricket

[freebilly]

Sheeesh ... what a waste of bandwidth !!! di di dit...da da dah...di da dit... better !!! ;-))

Hehehe....

[eclectic]

One thing is sure. Interenet is not a means for fast enrichment anymore. And this is great!

[Let's Roll]

The people I have spoken to who also thought that way would say something like, "What would I use it for?" My short answer would be whatever you can think of. ALL who are now online say they don't know how they ever did without it.

Just to list today's activity, in addition to participating in FR (I also forwarded some FR links to friends):

I read a newsletter of helpful computing tips

checked out a couple of articles in my Dallas Cowboys newsletter

received and forwarded two jokes

checked on my investment account

found a much loved and needed product that was not available in this state

and checked on my ebay bidding

The point is those who aren't interested in the internet, literally don't know what they are talking about.

[dinasour]

Not for me but I am a nerd.

[glorgau]

But, if you're willing to PAY big bucks, you can get high speed access from your cable provider, or DSl from your phone company, and there are a few wireless alternatives out there, but be ready to pay through the nose for mere Net access.

Big bucks?!?!?

Cable access here is $50 bucks a month. Far superior to dial up access. I'd even go so far as to say that I wouldn't live anywhere without high-speed access.

[SamBees]

But, it does mean that initially when the public became involved in the net, it was hailed as the future of the universe, when in reality, it was a passing fad for many who experienced it.

[SamBees]

"I think bandwidth is the key. They have to solve the "last mile" problem in a cost effective manner before it can progress much more. When streaming video becomes available to the masses the potential is scary. So scary that might be what is holding it back."

Thats a really good point. But, what that will do is bring back a certain percentage of users, and make those that use the net today much happier. The flash in the pan we saw at the outset of public usage won't return unless incredible content is made available to them at high speed, and a fair price. AOL raised their rates last year, and began to see many users fall away as a result, so a lot of people are not willing to be ripped off just to get high bandwidth access, which is not to say that AOL has ever provided that to the average user.

[SamBees]

Glad youre paying attention today! HAHA!

[socal_parrot]

It's all over.

[CIB-173RDABN]

The company the employees me is about 80 miles away. I have been to the office once in the past eight months. I work out of my home.

I could do this with out the Internet, but the internet makes it easier, and cheaper (for my company).

I have a high speed modem with service from my cable tv company.

Besides my computer, I have a business keyset (mulitibutton) telephone that is an extension off my company's phone system. I have all the features that a person inside the office has.

All my work is faxed to a number that rings into my company's phone system, which converts the fax to an attachment to an email, and emails it to me.

When I complete my work, I email it back to the office.

I could work anywhere in the world (as long as I had a high speed connection to the internet).

Not every job can be done away from the office, but many office jobs can. As I see it, the Internet is here to stay.

[SamBees]

FR is political. It appeals to you and I because we are interested in issues of this type, but many people are not at all political, which is amazing considering how important it is to be aware of what is going on. Yet, look at how many people don't vote.

[SamBees]

I think you are right-in seven more years, we won't believe the changes in the net, however, I will be impressed when computers talk to me, not to each other.

[SamBees]

Radio is nice, but fiber is better. If we can put in fiber into every home/business, and have radio as well, then the last mile issue is over and done with. Now, we will only need content. Will the net resemble the world of satellite and cable tv with 800,000,000 million channels and not a dang thing worth watching?