As I promised last class, here is the link to Ethan Zuckerman's famous talk, "Cute Cat Theory of the Internet". The talk is from 2008, a time when the socio-technical affordances of so-called "Web 2.0" platforms and programs of so-called "Web 2.0" that enabled users to create and distribute their own content came to dominate the Internet experience as we now know it.
Zuckerman's talk is really not about cats per se, of course, but how the value (as measured by utility and potential for making money) of Web 2.0 platforms can be assessed in terms of how they allow users to produce, distribute and converse about their own content. Zuckerman argues that in the early days of user generated content it was not easy to monetize cute cat pictures. In contrast, it was a lot easier to make money of a porn so it was the porn industry that demonstrate the case that certain key technical innovations that we now take for granted--such as webcams or chat rooms or secure credit card transactions--were both useful to users, scalable in reach, and potentially profitable.
But Zuckerman's real interest is neither cats nor porn, but the manner in which Internet platforms and social media apps enable and enhance social activism and political mobilization. As you can see from this graphic, the potential for "web 2.0" is far greater than the furthering the world domination of Internet Cats:
If you are interested more specifically in the incredibly important effect that the porn industry had on the development of the Internet, I would recommended that you visit the Internet History Podcast site
(more on this site later) and read and listen to the chapter 6 on"A History of Internet Porn" (There is no actual porn content, in case you are concerned)
A much shorter summary of the technological advances in communication and commerce that porn initiated can be found here:
http://www.enterprisefeatures.com/ten-indispensable-technologies-built-by-the-pornography-industry/
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