Genevieve Bell Addresses the Future of the Internet as a Cultural Institution

at this year’s ASIS&T Annual Meeting featured Genevieve Bell with a speech that tied directly into the “People Transforming Information – Information Transforming People” theme. Bell, an ethnographer who works for Intel Corporation, was followed by reaction from two more speakers and the audience. Bell began by noting the Internet is more than just the technology underpinning it. Democracy, transparency and the accessibility of all information are cultural values. URLs, except for those in the United States, contain a reference to their country. This arrangement shows the perception of where the center and the periphery are – views that aren’t necessarily shared globally. Bell says that we are standing at a very interesting and important point in time. What it means to talk about the Internet is about to pivot. At the first pivot point, the Internet moves off PCs and onto other devices such as phones, TVs, GPSs and gaming consoles. As it does, the types of experiences it affords are transformed.You can’t really think of immersive experiences on a cell phone screen. People will look for specific information rather than just surfing.