by Irving Fang and Ann Norris
ISBN: 1-933-01180-7
Trying to explain the Internet recalls the fable of the blind men describing
an elephant.
It is like a snake, said the one who touched the trunk.
No, said the man who touched a tusk, it is a spear.
No, it is like a tree, a wall, a rope, said those who touched a leg, the side,
the tail.
Depending upon how it is used, the Internet is like the phone system, enabling
anyone to reach anyone else immediately with a private message.
No, it is like radio, enabling one person instantly to reach millions.
No, it is like a newspaper, reporting fresh information, plus offering features,
advertising, and a public forum.
No, it is like the postal service with its private mail and junk mail.
No, it is like television, with the ability on the World Wide Web to add still
and motion pictures and sound to words.
No, it is like the magazine industry, able to reach millions of readers self-selected
in thousands of highly focused groups.
It is a huge delivery service. It is a huge library. It is a huge soapbox.
And on and on.
The Internet is said to be the most important new means of communication since
the invention of movable type printing more than 500 years ago. And it is developing
in our lifetime!
