Reading Response 5/9

5/9

After reading the article "The Database" by Lev Manovich I had a better understanding of what the first steps of the internet and technology were. The internet just started as a database for people to go to for information. The internet was full of algorithms and data and did not have much of an interactive aspect for the user to experience. A question that came to me while reading was, did people expect the internet to become so interactive and be a narrative of a persons life? This article focused so much on the database that it seemed like the author thought this was the only way the internet could be used. But as we know now, the internet has expanded and become much more interactive for the user. The internet is now a way for people to reach each other and stay connected. The ability for people to stay connected through social media is something that I don't think anyone saw in the future. What started as just a database for looking up information and punching out equations has now evolved into a whole new way of interacting and living. I do not think the inventors and users of the database saw this in the future at all; which makes the progress and expansion of the internet that much more exciting.