Hams sometimes say that amateur radio was the original Internet. In the latest episode of The Secret History of the Future Podcast, New media, old story—the progress of radio, Tom Standage of The Economist and Seth Stevenson of Slate attempt to make that comparison. The blurb reads:
Radio was originally a social medium, as early radio sets (each of which could transmit as well as receive) turned cities into giant chatrooms, populated by Morse Code-tapping enthusiasts. But the excitement of this democratic, digital platform did not last, and radio was tamed by corporate interests in the 1920s. The utopian dream of platforms that are open and meritocratic has been reborn in the internet era in the form of blogging, and more recently podcasting. But can it ever come true?
It’s not really an in-depth study, but it does make an interesting comparison between the early days of radio and the early days of the Internet. I think that one of the things that the podcast misses or de-emphasizes is that ham radio really morphed into something of its own. It didn’t just morph into broadcasting. By the same token, the Internet didn’t just morph into an evil, completely ad-driven medium.
In this episode, they interview Dr. Susan Douglas, who is the Catherine Neafie Kellogg Professor and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Communication and Media here in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan. One of the books she’s written is titled, Listening In: Radio and the American Imagination. I’m planning on inviting her to speak to our amateur radio club.
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