"Every Home Is Wired": 2 -- The Progressive Rock Subculture and the Net

"Every Home Is Wired":
2 -- The Progressive Rock Subculture and the Net

Thus, even the stereotypes used by outsiders to denounce Prog fans and Net users are nearly identical; both are depicted as 'nerds' or 'geeks': in other words, 'earnest young men' (as Fripp has called them), detached from 'real life', taking their hobbies too seriously and following obscure obsessions. That perceptions of these two subcultures are so similar, then, is at least a strong indication that the subcultures themselves are also similar in structure.	Bit 51
In both subcultures, there is also a strong interest in technological advances. For Internet users, this is self-evident, since their entire culture has arisen from such advances in the first place, but the history of Prog also shows a certain dependency on new musical technologies (instruments from the Mellotron to the stick and VDrums, and playback technologies from stereo systems to the CD). But technological development has two aspects: for the case of the Internet, for example, "CMC lowers transaction costs, helping unorganised, latent interests organise and grow. This is a positive step to those who have a commitment to equal representation and are concerned about the existing bias in the political system ... . On the other hand, high transaction costs surrounding access to computer networks suggest new sources of bias" (Bonchek, n. pag.). Not only in their own technological areas, therefore, have both subcultures only been supportive of what they have seen as enabling uses of new technology. Prog fans have been quick to adopt the Internet as a medium of community interaction, but there has also been an equally pronounced cautionary trend.³⁰ Similarly, Internet users have been heavily critical, too, of attempts to use computing technology to track individuals' online moves or preferences, or to establish corporate dominance.	Bit 52

Thus, even the stereotypes used by outsiders to denounce Prog fans and Net users are nearly identical; both are depicted as 'nerds' or 'geeks': in other words, 'earnest young men' (as Fripp has called them), detached from 'real life', taking their hobbies too seriously and following obscure obsessions. That perceptions of these two subcultures are so similar, then, is at least a strong indication that the subcultures themselves are also similar in structure.

Bit 51

In both subcultures, there is also a strong interest in technological advances. For Internet users, this is self-evident, since their entire culture has arisen from such advances in the first place, but the history of Prog also shows a certain dependency on new musical technologies (instruments from the Mellotron to the stick and VDrums, and playback technologies from stereo systems to the CD). But technological development has two aspects: for the case of the Internet, for example, "CMC lowers transaction costs, helping unorganised, latent interests organise and grow. This is a positive step to those who have a commitment to equal representation and are concerned about the existing bias in the political system ... . On the other hand, high transaction costs surrounding access to computer networks suggest new sources of bias" (Bonchek, n. pag.). Not only in their own technological areas, therefore, have both subcultures only been supportive of what they have seen as enabling uses of new technology. Prog fans have been quick to adopt the Internet as a medium of community interaction, but there has also been an equally pronounced cautionary trend.³⁰ Similarly, Internet users have been heavily critical, too, of attempts to use computing technology to track individuals' online moves or preferences, or to establish corporate dominance.

Bit 52

Section 2 -- Go on to Bite:

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30