Sender: "Craig A. Johnson" <•••@••.•••>
Glen Raphael wrote on 22 September:
> Maybe ten years from now the net will become a necessity of life,
> but it's certainly not there yet. You mention the UN; do you REALLY
> think that people in Bangladesh need subsidized net access? And is
> this the FIRST thing they need? Personally, I wouldn't put it in the
> top 50.
Without getting into all the subsidization issues, the World Bank and
most development experts would put Net access way up there in terms
of the impact of improved interactive communications on health,
agriculture and agronomy, industrialization, administration, public
infrastructure, trade, and many other externalities that spin off of
interactive communications
>
> [I'm expecting many people to flame this last part. But before you
> flame, try to make an estimate of how many hours you spent on the
> net in the past year. Scary, isn't it? You probably could have
> written a book in that time. You could have had a second career, or
> spent more time with your family and friends, taken up a sport, art
> or hobby, or just been a lot more productive at work and gotten a
> raise or a better job. Am I right?]
Not if none of those things were a priority for me, or if the time
on the Net was conducive to improved productivity in both my
professional and personal life, as it has been. It's not at all
"scary," in fact it's liberating.
Craig
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Sender: •••@••.••• (Don Porter)
On Sep 22, 1995 01:08:30, 'Cyber Rights <•••@••.•••>'
wrote:
>Maybe ten years from now the net will become a necessity of life, but it's
>certainly not there yet. You mention the UN; do you REALLY think that
people in
>Bangladesh need subsidized net access? And is this the FIRST thing they
need?
>Personally, I wouldn't put it in the top 50.
I pretty much agree with this assessment. There are many, many places in
this world that need more mundane things, like safe drinking water, sewage
treatment, job creation, better food production techniques, a heck of a lot
more than they need access to the net.
>[I'm expecting many people to flame this last part. But before you flame,
try
>to make an estimate of how many hours you spent on the net in the past
year.
>Scary, isn't it? You probably could have written a book in that time. You
could
>have had a second career, or spent more time with your family and friends,
>taken up a sport, art or hobby, or just been a lot more productive at work
and
>gotten a raise or a better job. Am I right?]
No flaming from this corner. BTW, using the net IS my second career. <g>
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Sender: Arun Mehta <•••@••.•••>
CR> Glen Raphael, •••@••.•••
CR> people in Bangladesh need subsidized net access? And is this the
CR> FIRST thing they need? Personally, I wouldn't put it in the top
CR> 50.
The World Bank just ran an electronic conference to determine what
priority people assigned to networking in developed countries, and what
they thought the Bank should do about it. Now, clearly, people who are on
the net already would hardly constitute an unbiased sample. However,
people did point out how networking could help in all those problems you
would put in the top 50. Communication is a fundamental human need, not a
luxury, and there is no cheaper way than the Internet.
For further details and some excellent background material, the best
person to contact would be •••@••.••• -- but please don't
flood his mailbox, write only if you are seriously concerned.
CR> try to make an estimate of how many hours you spent on the net in
CR> the past year. Scary, isn't it? You probably could have written a
CR> book in that time. You could have had a second career, or spent
CR> more time with your family and friends, taken up a sport, art or
CR> hobby, or just been a lot more productive at work and gotten a
CR> raise or a better job. Am I right?
Mostly, and also wrong, as is normal when you stick your neck out. You can
make friends and spend time with them on the net, even take up sports,
arts and hobbies, or be more productive via the net, no problem. Let's
just talk about the money aspect. Right now, the Internet is like a gold
rush. People are clamoring to get on, learn about it, read about it. Some
people are making a killing feeding this frenzy, and the comparison with
the gold rush is apt: those who really made money were not those who dug
for gold, but those who sold them rail tickets, jeans, booze, sex,...
don't recall where I read this.
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