Collapsing the information float

Written by Dan Brown

In 1964, theorist and scholar Marshall McLuhan said, “The message of any medium or technology is the change of scale or pace or pattern that it introduces into human affairs.”

The man was incredibly far ahead of his time. Nearly 30 years after McLuhan made this assertion — and a decade after his death — the technologies of personal computing, TCP/IP networks and the World Wide Web project came together to blow the pace and pattern of human affairs to bits. The information float — the time it takes for captured information to be made available to users — was collapsed.

Today we are aware of major global events within minutes — if not seconds — of their occurrence. We find solutions to complex questions with a few keystrokes and a mouse click. We no longer have to imagine what far away exotic places are like; we can experience them in high-def, surround sound and real time.

Baby boomers like us can remember when things weren’t this way. When you had to go to the public library to research a book report. When you had to go downtown to get a copy of the latest Led Zeppelin album. When there were some things that you were content to ignore because it was just too difficult to find explanations for them.

But our children can’t remember anything very far removed from life as it’s lived today. Believe it or not, the Internet has even affected the way young people are intimate with each other. I just read that a recent study published by Google Reports found that 86 percent of college students admitted to having sex over the Internet. And the overwhelmingly preferred form was via Web cam. I don’t understand it. When I have that urge to expose my body to another person, I usually just take off my clothes and yell “Hey Honey! Would you come here for a minute?” OK, she doesn’t really like it, but at least I don’t have to worry about anything ending up on a MySpace page.

You can get information about almost anything, quickly and in great depth and quantity. I work with a woman who believes that this is just the opening Big Brother has been waiting for. Then again, she won’t tell anyone where she lives and runs all internal e-mail attachments through virus detection software. I’m not so worried about that sort of stuff. Identity theft? I say go ahead and steal it. I’ll bet you’ll end up paying me to take it back.

Just to test McLuhan’s theory I’ve decided to try a little experiment: What kind of crazy stuff can I find out just sitting here at my computer — and how fast can I find it?

I’ll just pick random stuff that comes into my mind like ...

•  How do you say “I have a cramp in my left nostril” in French?

J’ai une crampe dans ma narine gauche. (22 seconds)

•  What did Paris Hilton do last night?

Eeeeewwwwww! (16 seconds)

•  What did my neighbor pay for his house?

He got hosed. (36 seconds)               

•  What is the weather like today in St. Petersburg, Russia?

Well — from Ivan Klimenko’s apartment window it looks overcast and people outside are wearing coats so it must be chilly. (44 seconds — slow loader)

•  By the time my daughters graduate high school, how much will it cost for me to pay for their college educations?

Holy shhhhh...... (52 seconds)

•  What are common heart attack symptoms?

Thank God. The pain’s not in my left arm. (12 seconds — I was motivated)

I found out all that stuff in about 21/2 minutes — and got paid for it. I love my job.

I have always taken great pleasure in being able to disprove theories. As much as I respect McLuhan, I think there are exceptions to every rule.

April, the Press-Citizen’s market information specialist, sits just outside my office door — about 15 feet away. I am now typing the following e-mail to her:

“April-

Have you heard back from the software vendor yet?

I’m now hitting “send” and counting ... 30 seconds, 1 minute. I get her response in exactly 1 minute 22 seconds.

Dan”

I haven’t heard back from her yet.

Now I lean back in my chair and shout “Hey April. Did you hear back from that vendor?”

She yells back: “I already told you NO!”

Two seconds.

There are some things technology simply will never replace.

Dan Brown is the director of innovation and audience development at the Iowa City Press-Citizen, a musician, Iowa City native, father of two young girls and a swinger of birches.

Reach him by sending an e-mail to dbrown@press-citizen.com.