Hysterical
as that sounds, Hernandez expresses how it feels to a number
of people in San Francisco. A nd
all the Mission District fear and loathing has made one thing clear:
between 1995 and 1998, cyberspace had, like the old neighborhood,
gentrified. To a large extent, it was no longer the domain of the
semi-slacked, coffeehouse artists, misfits and nerds who’d
lived there when it was cheap. In fact, some of their work was,
like the mural at 17th and Harrison, being painted over.
During an interview in late 1996, the designer Tibor Kalman told me, with real lament, "I have a feeling that some of the most interesting ideas on the Web have already come – and gone." Sock Puppet Envy "You are an old man, who thinks in terms of ‘nations’ and ‘peoples.’ There are no nations. There are no peoples. There are no Russians. There are no Arabs. There are no Third Worlds. There is no West! There is only one holistic systems of systems. One vast… and interwoven, interacting, multivariate, multinational dominion of dollars. … It is the international system of currency which determines the totality of life on this planet. That is the natural order of things today. That is the atomic, and subatomic, and galactic structure of things today. And you have meddled with the primal forces of nature. And you will atone. "Am I getting through to you, Mr. Beale?" That’s Jensen (Ned Beatty) ranting at Howard Beale (Peter Finch) in the 1976 film Network. Jensen doesn’t approve of Beale’s appeals to humanism on his TV station, and tells him so. In the process, screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky proves he’s 20 years ahead of his time satirizing the rhetoric of the New Economy. What Chayefsky missed, however, is that multinational corporations would not rule the world; free markets would. Thanks to volatility of the market, it’s almost impossible not to see TEOTWAWKI in the desperate attempts by companies – especially the dot-coms – to keep their share prices up: ridiculous press releases, slick investor and industry conference speeches, asinine promotions. One recent example was forwarded me by my friend James, who also endured Wired Ventures’ failed attempts at an IPO. After Wired News was sold to Lycos, James and his pals referred to the Lycos stock, in which they all hold options, as "the dog." As in, "How’s the dog looking today?" Lycos’ mascot is a black Labrador-retriever, and perhaps owing to Pets.com Sock Puppet envy months ago, the staff received this memo of impending doom: Hello Lycos Network Staff in SF & Mountain View! Lycos is sponsoring "Bark in the Park", Silicon Valley’s annual event for dog lovers and their pets. Over 10,000 dog lovers (and avid Internet users) and 4,000 dogs will fill William Street Park in San Jose on Saturday July 15 from 10am-5pm. Here is an event tailored for Lycos! Our sponsorship allows us to have someone dress as Lycos the dog and have other Lycos event staff take polaroid photos (free giveaway items for the crowd). We will also hand out kazoos, Lycos stickers and beach balls from our booth. We can promote the entire Lycos Network to these Silicon Valley folk including Free Internet Access… We would need a team of 6-8 fired up Lycos employees…. Who is interested in running the booth, wearing the dog costume, handing out fun items, talking up Lycos, and bringing their pup for a fun day?
As the Digital Revolution blew into people’s lives, stock tickers became the "text" of our time, replete with hidden agendas and meaning. Yet each stock swap, each bankruptcy, each pink slip, all the "pain" in the market, far from feeling conclusive – the end of the New Economy – has only reinforced that the New Economy is in full effect. Turbulence, voliatility, and risk–these are endemic to the New Economy, not proof of its demise. This is where the New Economy and Digital Revolution blur: the New Economy is not just a market phenomenon, but a cultural phenomenon. |
