Strength and Weakness of the Web

I believe that most of the greatest strengths and the greatest weaknesses of the web both stem from the same causes; these causes being ease of use, dehumanization, privacy, and likely others that I cannot currently think of. The internet's strengths are obviously that it's open to everyone, and gives everyone equal say, but at the expense of the human element.

To illustrate this, just think of how much easier it is to express your opinions to someone via e-mail compared to in person. You're allowed more time to think and put your thoughts into organization, but isn't it often the case that you find yourself saying things you would never say in person. This is where dehumanization's involved. Without the person your speaking to being present, you are less inclined to consider their feelings and response.

The chapter on remediation in the textbook makes me a bit more optimistic. If it's true (which I think the author's correct) that new media is always established upon and with other media, you have to sort of re-examine the art of the different types of media that have led to the present. Using the above example again, perhaps the art of e-mail, on a long enough time scale, will cause the art of letter writing to be studied and developed again, a skill I think has been long lost. And of course the internet is much more than e-mail, but the same idea can be applied to most or all of its features.

To try and summarize, I think the internet will fit in wonderfully with other media if people have a sort of renassaince in the field of communication (as Bolter and Grusin assert), and re-learn what it means to speak effectively and creatively. And just to put it out there, I think this would happen a lot more quickly if everyone stopped using emoticons, yes?