Does The Internet Need Better PR?
from the not-such-a-bad-place,-after-all dept
If you didn’t use the internet, but just read news stories about it all the time, you might think it’s a pretty bad place. There’s all these scams and identity theft and porn and spam to deal with. Why would anyone bother. That’s why one guy thinks that the internet needs better PR. For example, he points out that most television characters never seem to use the internet for anything other than hacking into government computers. So, he’s suggesting (tongue-in-cheek, I hope) a TV show that portrays the internet in a positive light. Any time characters have problems, the show’s Baboon (don’t ask) points them to a website that can help them. While, he’s joking about the show (I think… or, rather, I hope…) it does make something of a point. While all the bad stuff makes news, all the good stuff doesn’t make news because it’s just there, and it works (mostly). That’s just not particularly newsworthy.
Comments on “Does The Internet Need Better PR?”
ScreenSavers
Does that make Leo Laporte a baboon?
game show
I was once part of a pilot for a sort of game show based on the proposition that aliens were about to destroy the earth but would save people who could demonstrate the usefulness of their websites.
Never got commisioned of course but I had a fun day making my segment. (Filmed by someone who subsequently has become a quite well known UK TV personality)
No Subject Given
Parallel: When was the last time you saw positive depection of an aircraft in a Movie? Our attention is only drawn to them when they blow up, are hijacked, etc. Even more true of “light” aircraft, which never seem to make the trip…
Yet people still fly (most people anyway).
To extend this parallel: Remember “Sky King”, “Whirlybirds” and “Ripcord”… these were positive depictions of airplane, helicopter, and skydiving; they aired during the “Techno-enthusiasim” era… but don’t air (and nothing like them) anymore. Where’s the equivalent point the hype curve for computing?
As usual, The Simpsons leads the way
“The Simpsons” has regularly portrayed characters using the Internet in a positive (or at least non-destructive) way:
http://whatbadgerseat.com
Homer doing on-line investing at the Internet cafe (“Fox?! Undo! Undo!” )
Lisa looking up the symptoms of leprosy on a virtual doctor website.
Homer creating his successful gossip column online
“Dancing Jesus”
“bin Laden in a Blender” and the Bartoons
I’m sure there are many others.