Features – The Netstorian

The Dot Com Super Bowl

Pets.com Super Bowl ad — Still from Pets.com’s Super Bowl XXXIV ad

As the Internet became more popular and the new millennium approached, it wasn’t uncommon to see the entertainment industry trying to get in on the fun. Your favourite TV shows would have episodes revolving around a character doing something that involved the Internet, rather than it being presented as an every day thing. Popular music would make corny attempts to work this trendy new thing into their lyrics and videos. Films such as You’ve Got Mail were likely created to relate to a newly-connected audience of moviegoers.

It’s no secret that when the entertainment world wants to jump on a trend, the hype is heavily milked. So what happens when you combine the Super Bowl, one of the biggest television events of the year, with the Internet, a larger-than-life technology growing in popularity? You get the “Dot Com Super Bowl” of 2000. Continue reading “The Dot Com Super Bowl”

Virtual communities and self-expression

Habbo screenshot — A populated room on Habbo. (Screenshot from Virtual Worlds For Teens)

Aside from providing a plethora of information, the Internet’s rise in popularity can also be credited to what it allowed users to do socially.

Communication with a far-away relative was made easy with e-mail, and meeting a new friend halfway across the world could be done from your own living room while browsing a forum. This advanced connectivity introduced a fascinating experience previously unavailable to the world and changed the way we interact. Beyond the typical e-mail and instant messaging programs, one thing that took online socialization to a new level was virtual world games. Continue reading “Virtual communities and self-expression”

The freebooting debate: Keeping obscure legacies alive

Aaliyah One In A Million — Album cover of Aaliyah’s *One In A Million* (Photo from Wikipedia)

I recently read a Complex article explaining why Aaliyah’s music cannot be legally downloaded on the Internet. Often times for artists who do not make their music available online, typical reasons include issues with royalties, ethics, or quality. What makes the late R&B singer’s case so unique is how there appears to be a lack of motive behind it. The article goes on to question if as a result, illegally sharing her music on the Internet is one of the main things keeping Aaliyah’s legacy alive.

While Aaliyah is by no means an obscure musician, her situation falls similar to actual obscure artists. This raises a question of if illegal access online for not only obscure music, but any obscure media is a positive thing. Continue reading “The freebooting debate: Keeping obscure legacies alive”

Web eras simplified: Web 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and beyond

In my previous article, the terms “web 1.0” and “web 2.0” appeared. For those who had never seen these words before, it brought up the question of “what do those words mean?”. There are different explanations out there for each term, some more similar than others. Though the debate regarding their exact definitions is complicated, they can also be broken down into more accurate descriptions. Continue reading “Web eras simplified: Web 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and beyond”