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 Richard Hart, executive producer of c|net TV and c|net Online, delivered the keynote address at the May 1997 Cray User Group meeting.
He began his entertaining presentation by discussing things
that have and have not worked on the Web, and why. For instance, he said, interactive soap
operas were launched with high hopes, but almost none have
survived. Other sites--and he provided some amusing
examples--have done far better than anyone expected. He believes that
although the Internet offers opportunity for interactivity, the
nature of entertainment is essentially passive. The one exception to
this rule appears to be the various MUD sites, which he classified
as sports rather than as entertainment.Richard argued that what the Internet does best is supply information, and is not now--nor in the near future--likely to supplant TV or movies as a primary source of entertainment. In his opinion, the best use of the Internet is as a vehicle for the dissemination of ideas to people and businesses otherwise unlikely to encounter such ideas. He gave two examples of such cross-fertilization: an extremely lightweight ceramic insulator and a DNA-engineered artificial skin. In each case, uses were found for these materials that might otherwise have been overlooked had not the Internet connected researchers working in widely different areas. Richard encouraged all of us to publish the results of our research on the Internet, and--if especially interesting--to let him know too, so that he can feature these results on one of his shows! |
Comments to: lester@ucar.edu