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E-box vs. Idiot Box : Who's the winner?
jaihoon
05/10/01 at 15:03:43
E-box vs. Idiot Box : Who's the winner? The Net has changed the way we perceive the sensations around us. Thanks to the philosophy of 'rich getting richer and poor getting poorer', the majority of mankind is still offline to this new form of connectivity. In the early days of its infancy, the Web was looked upon as the savior of the shattered economies, corrupt bureaucracies and imbalanced educational systems. The Net pundits made lavish predictions as to how the 'new connectivity' was going to change the entire social landscape. Some even challenged that the net would virtually erase all political boundaries. Terms like 'Super Highway', 'Digital revolution' etc were pronounced vigorously on every speakers lips. The entire life was to become e-Life! The press media was facing the biggest risk. The idea of a paperless economy literally blew them out. A time came that the relationships, romantic or otherwise, began to be nourished more on 'online mode' than real-life 'offline mode'. Corporate life was worth only if it had a web presence! But how far did this honeymoon go on? Was the entire buzz worth it? The E-Oracles had committed serious mistakes. They had been misled by the E-stars. What followed after the early enthusiasms was really heartbreaking. Revenues from web-based advertisements - the main source of income- fell drastically. Venture capitalists lost all their hopes in the E-investments and ditched most of the dotcom startups. As series of hackings on government secret agencies and another set of Denial of Service attacks on the giant portals of the Web painted a bleak picture. Chartrooms opened up a Pandora's box of troubles for the family and mistrust began to shape up in relationships. All the more ironical were that the web-based relationships remained only as long as the 'connection' remained. Once offline, both the messages exchanged and the relationship itself became 'history'. Such was the impact of the failure of Net-inspired dreams that Bill Gates, the software evangelist, admitted at the World Economic Forum held last year that 'FREE information and COMMUNITY interaction was the core of internet. Many multinational companies have closed down their Internet divisions. AOL and Amazon.com, the two most successful companies on the Net, have fired thousands of employees. But life is not just about E-despair, is it? Are any stars of Hope remaining in this vast E-galaxy? Perhaps yes. Perhaps no. As a die-hard fan of optimistic philosophy of the Visionary Poet, let me opt for the former. I am sure you have heard of the latest defense scandal that has rocked the largest democracy of the world. It was, as the Chief Editor of the website remarked, 'a fine example of journalism'. What I have in mind is the 'Dot Com journalism'. A simple website had brought to light the biggest ever scandal of corruption, not only in the political circles, but also in the army ranks. But the point this humble E-nthusiast is trying to make is not the details of the scandal but the fact that such an operation was carried out by a miniature dot com journalist firm. This operation had brought the entire nation to a standstill. The one billion population was obliged to this website for their daring piece of journalism. The other cousins in the media industry- press, Television and Radio- had no choice but to applaud this E-cousin. Perhaps to a lesser degree, one would be surprised to learn that an essay that appeared in another college-based website about the ethnic day was reflected at the welcome speech of the International Day's Cultural Show, the most prestigious event of the college. Below is a passage from the essay: But in an era of globalization accompanied by the erosion of cultural individuality, this event becomes a catalyst in arousing cultural harmony and tolerance among the youth. Leaving aside the subtleties, the event symbolizes the unity of human cultures. One may vary in dress and food, but mankind as a single entity breathes the same air, drinks the same water and in this context, acquires the same knowledge. Philosophically speaking, beauty is when diversity is appreciated with respect and understanding. In an era when the concept of global village (with all its authoritarian forms) is gaining popularity, ethnicity is losing grounds rapidly… There is no such thing as cultural superiority of one above the other. Cultural intolerance is one among the modern sickness of modern humanity. One culture is increasingly getting 'bugged' by another for reasons like economic superiority or historic misdoings. If the ethnic Day can prove to be an antidote against this sickness, well and fine. Culture embodies the total transformation of its adherents. It cannot be wholly contained within the fine linings of the fabric that one adorns. The costume reflects the state of mind. It is the heart that has to be beautified first. Everything else will follow by itself." All the more heartening was the grievances by the students regarding the belated (2days) update of the event on the site. Some students had in fact  logged on to the site the very same night of the function to watch it online. This shows how readily the entire campus had embraced the site wholeheartedly. Not to mention an elderly friend's comment : I'd rather prefer to watch it online. (owing to the inconvenience in attending the function). Of course, it goes without saying that the actual experience is far better than the E-xperience.   It has to be seen whether the Net will outlive the onslaught of the television. Will the E-Box (the PC) win over the Idiot Box in the living room? Whom will the family hold more dearer to their heart? Will it be the Net? As my mystic friend would blindly say with a smile, 'Maybe. Only God knows.' http://www.jaihoon.com/egoptics/box.htm

Re: E-box vs. Idiot Box : Who's the winner?
pakiprncess
05/10/01 at 19:54:09
asalaam alaikum friends - wow, jaihoon...i like it :) i totally agree with you here...even though im optimistic, the net often gives reasons not to be. personally, however, i think that both the tv and net will reign for quite some time before the decline of tv...cuz as addicted as people are to the internet, i still think more have tvs in their homes, and a lot enjoy being a couch potato more than a typing maniac. [quote]Corporate life was worth only if it had a web presence![/quote] this reminds me of that email with the microsoft janitor who didnt have an email address and got fired, only to end up selling tomatoes and becoming a millionaire from doing it... [quote]Philosophically speaking, beauty is when diversity is appreciated with respect and understanding.[/quote] eloquently said...i wish more people had this idea in mind when exploring the world and measuring up its people... [quote]Of course, it goes without saying that the actual experience is far better than the E-xperience[/quote] seems like youre not an addict.......yet ;) youre a good writer, dude. keep up the great work. :) wasalaam

Re: E-box vs. Idiot Box : Who's the winner?
meraj
05/13/01 at 22:51:47
slm, i totally agree... tv is 99.9% pure unrefined crap... the internet has the potential to be just as if not more harmful, cause it actually allows poeople to directly intereact with it, and this happens everyday all the time and its a sad thing indeed.... but i personally think that in the right hands, the internet has a much bigger potential for good, specifically dawah... gettign the presence of Muslims known to the world. my 2 cents :)

Re: E-box vs. Idiot Box : Who's the winner?
jannah
05/14/01 at 01:25:30
[slm] That's interesting jaihoon. I've read many studies as well on how the internet, rather than making people more social, is correlated with more anti-social depressed behavior. I think I agree with jehad in that the internet has alot of potential for dawah but only because it is a new media and somewhat egalitarian. The only problem is that we aren't using it to it's advantage and we're not getting into the infrastructure of the web ie -- members of all the important governing bodies of the internet.
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