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Subject: This week's "Internet NewsClips" From: madanmohan rao <rao@igc.apc.org> Date: Thu, 29 Jun 1995 19:23:33 -0700
Subject: This week's "Internet NewsClips" From: madanmohan rao Date: Thu, 29 Jun 1995 19:23:33 -0700
How the Web Was Won
Subject: This week's "Internet NewsClips"
From: madanmohan rao
Date: Thu, 29 Jun 1995 19:23:33 -0700
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Hello folks -
Here are excerpts from this week's "International Internet
NewsClips." You can find the full column plus archives at the
MecklerMedia Web site (http://www.mecklerweb.com), under the Net
Day section.
Comments, feedback, more translations, etc. welcome as usual. Happy
reading!!
- madan
_________________________________________________________________
Madanmohan Rao Phone: (212) 963-1175
Communications Director Fax: (212) 754-2791
Inter Press Service E-mail: rao@igc.org
United Nations, New York
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Internet Spreads "Global Hope" Of Democracy, Prosperity
-------------------------------------------------------
Speaker after speaker at the annual meeting of the Internet
Society asserted that as the Internet spreads rapidly around the
world, it carries with it "a heavy burden of expectations that
getting connected to the global network will foster both economic
development and democracy." The Internet may be "the key to
bringing the benefits of the information revolution" worldwide.
Though such evidence is mostly anecdotal, interconnectivity is the
"single most powerful predictor of democracy," according to a RAND
Corporation researcher. But huge gaps and inequities still remain.
For instance, Tunisia has a single link to France at the speed of
19.2 Kbps. Algeria is connected to Italy via a single 9600 bps
line. Political culture is another key issue for consideration. "A
country can't just throw out its own values and adopt Internet
values," one speaker cautioned. Ironically, though, widespread
acceptance of the Internet is also pushing it rapidly towards its
design limit: a lack of address space. The next generation of IP
(Internet Protocol) is hoped to address this problem.
(San Jose Mercury News; June 28, June 29, 1995)
Are The Media Overreacting To Pornography On The Internet?
----------------------------------------------------------
This week's cover of TIME magazine focuses on "Cyberporn,"
with an "exclusive" on "how pervasive and wild it really is."
NEWSWEEK featured a "Parent's Guide To Sex On The Net," with the
headline also appearing on the front cover. But is such coverage
really treating the issue fairly? A cited news study conducted at
Carnegie Mellon University about pornography on online networks has
been criticised by some analysts as "very misleading scare
tactics." The author of the study, Marty Rimm, claims that though
pornography accounts for only a small percentage of the information
available on the Internet, one needs to "look at the demand side."
Pornographic image files represent about 3% of all Usenet messages,
which themselves account for about 11.5% of Internet traffic. In
addition to proposed government legislation, other measures like
software filtering tools and parental education coalitions are
being launched.
(Washington Post; June 28, 1995)
Aspiring Online Publishers In Australia Face Variety Of Options
---------------------------------------------------------------
Publishers in Australia wishing to make their materials
available online face a variety of options: CompuServe, Apple's
eWorld (but all material will be stored in computers in the U.S.),
the forthcoming MicroSoft Network's "On Australia," and Internet
access providers like Next Online and Magnadata. They differ in
access rates, commission shares, royalty percentages, regular
maintenance charges, and storage rates.
(Sydney Morning Herald; June 27 - July 4, 1995)
Lawyers Struggle With Competing Visions Of The Internet
-------------------------------------------------------
The louder the calls to control the Internet, the more
confusing the picture gets for lawyers. There at least three sets
of issues that arise. What is the best analogy for the Internet -
the mail service, print publisher, telephone system, broadcaster,
or bookstore? Whose standards of decency should be used to judge
speech on the Internet - New York city, Alabama, or Saudi Arabia?
How will cyberlaw be enforced across boundaries? The real answer,
according to law-policy consultant Mark Rasch, is going to be
"technological."
(Christian Science Monitor; June 27, 1995)
British Salvager Launches Recycling Service On Internet
-------------------------------------------------------
Thornton Kay, an architectural salvager, has launched an
Internet-based recycling service to rescue the estimated 25,000
tons of reclaimable building materials dumped everyday in British
landfill sites. 3.5 billion bricks are manufactured annually in
Britain - but 2.5 billion are destroyed through demolition of
buildings. The Internet service also provides information about
recyclable barns, paneling, beams, and brass fixtures. Kay believes
the Internet can be used to alert the salvage trade to impending
demolitions.
(The Independent, England; June 27, 1995)
Internet Access Competition In Singapore Heats Up
-------------------------------------------------
A three-cornered fight for the Internet provider market has
opened up in Singapore, which includes Singapore Telecom's SingNet
and a newly-formed consortium called Pacific Internet. Pacific
Internet hopes to provide "roaming services" which will give
Singaporean subscribers Internet access throughout the region
during their travels. Competition is expected from the MicroSoft
Network and British Telecom's PSI.
(Singapore Business Times; June 26, 1995)
"Serious Money" Begins To Hit The Internet
------------------------------------------
The first wave of investments in the Internet focused on the
"basic plumbing," such as the $46 million in 1993 which went to
substructure companies like UUNet. Venture capital is now aiming at
the second generation of start-ups, the software companies that are
trying to make the Internet more hospitable to consumers and
businesses. At current rates, about $200 million may be invested in
start-ups such as Yahoo, Architext, and Golfweb by the end of this
year. Other targets include commerce facilitators like Open Market
and Enterprise Integration Technologies.
(New York Times; June 26, 1995)
Internet Advertising Faces Challenges In Global Marketplace
----------------------------------------------------------
Businesses seem so keen to advertise their wares on the
Internet that in London alone there is an average of one Internet
conference a week. But for companies with multinational clients,
the global reach of the Internet can also pose problems. Decisions
by brand managers in one country may impinge on the territory of
brand managers in other countries. Advertising of new products on
the Web by U.S. computer managers may depress sales in other
countries as customers realise that what is available in their own
countries may become obsolete soon.
(Financial Times, London; June 26, 1995)
German Neo-Nazis Build Electronic Shield - Via Internet
---------------------------------------------------------
Under pressure from political bans, home searches, and
government surveillance, German neo-Nazis have found shelter in the
"electronic fortresses" of BBSs. Hundreds of the estimated 50,000
extreme rightists are going online, using the Internet to access
material illegal in Germany - such as anti-Semitic and Holocaust
revisionist treatises.
(Associated Press; June 26, 1995)
South Africa To Make Government Information Available On Internet
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The South African Constitutional Assembly will distribute
constitutional data on the Internet to "extend democracy to its
citizens." This experiment in developing a constitution may be "one
of the most transparent and open in history," according to Hassen
Ebrahim, executive director of the Constitutional Assembly.
Computers installed in libraries and post offices may help citizens
communicate with politicians. Sun Microsystems has been designated
as provider of the database server.
(Business Wire; June 26, 1995)
Net Is Being Overrun By Businesses, But Is Still A "Byway"
----------------------------------------------------------
The primary driver of the explosion of Net surfers - a 10-fold
increase since 1990 - is not interest in the Internet's famous
educational offerings or infamous chat groups - but the business
world. More than 75% of all new users logging on are from
corporations. The Internet is expected to help cut costs in
internal and external communications, advertising and sales. But
until business and customer transactions are secure enough, Web
sites are likely to be little more than "vanity plates" and the
Internet may remain an "interesting byway." Still, cyberspace
"upstarts" like Netcom and Netscape are ensuring that the magic
word for investors is now "Internet." Other issues covered in this
annual report on information technology include virtual malls,
telecommuting, government regulation, groupware and wireless
transmission.
(Business Week; June 26, 1995)
British Schools, Businesses Plug Into The Internet
--------------------------------------------------
Since 95% of the messages on the Internet are in English,
ventures like Project Connect are trying to leverage the "strong
cultural advantage" to get British schools plugged into the
Internet. Educators feel students can get more enthusiasm from
e-mail, electronic conversations with international students for
foreign language learning, and research material for independent
projects. British publications and businesses are also experiencing
some success with Web sites, such as EuroDollar
(http://www.eurodollar.co.uk) and Barclaycard's Netlink magazine
(http://www.barclaycard.co.uk/barclay.htm).
(Sunday Times, London; June 25, 1995)
China Passes Milestone With Commercial Internet Access
------------------------------------------------------
This week, the Beijing Telegraph Administration opened
commercial access to the Internet. However, this link-up with the
vast resources of the Internet also makes Chinese officials
"nervous." Chinese media are strictly controlled, and appetite for
the Internet is estimated to be "voracious." Increase in ownership
of PCs is about 30 percent per year. High access costs and the fact
that most Internet traffic is in English pose some challenges.
(Financial Times, London; June 24-25, 1995)
Western Investors Should Overcome Their Technophobia
----------------------------------------------------
A fear of technology should not blind investors to its
fast-growing potential. According to Guy Monson, a British
investment analyst, "information technology is the Western world's
investment answer to emerging markets." The widespread diffusion of
PCs and the explosion of the Internet guarantee long term growth
rates that "traditional industries cannot match."
(The Times, London; June 24, 1995)
Tennis Fans Can Follow Wimbledon, Australian Open On The Internet
-----------------------------------------------------------------
In addition to discussion on Usenet newsgroups like
rec.sports.tennis, several Web sites now provide photographs and
other player information for international tournaments, such as the
Australian Open (http://netspace.net.au/~jsimmons/ozopen.html),
Wrexham Lawn Tennis Club
(http://www.demon.co.uk/GRA/tennis/index.html), and the ATP Tour
(http://www.bogo.co.uk/atp_tour).
(The Guardian, England; June 23, 1995)
FIDONet May Be Key To Internet Access For World's Have-Nots
-----------------------------------------------------------
FIDONet may be the gateway to the global village for the
have-nots of the world. FIDONet is a worldwide community of about
35,000 internetworked, yet independently owned BBSs which also
offers e-mail connectivity to the Internet. Some educators compare
it to a "bicycle path next to the information highway," without the
"Web-wonder" or "gopher-glitter" of the Internet.
(Boardwatch magazine; June 1995)
Internet Facilitates New Forms Of Media Criticism
-------------------------------------------------
Previously, critiques of the media were possible only through
scholarly journals or newspaper pieces by media critics. Today,
online media like the Internet have fostered new dialogues between
reporters and readers as well as collegial criticism amongst
reporters. This can increase the sense of journalistic
accountability, but journalists should also learn to correct for
the excesses and deficiencies of "off the cuff" online media
criticism, according to Thomas Valovic (valovic@world.std.com),
editor of "Telecommunications" magazine.
(Media Studies Journal; Spring 1995)
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