1.
Cybersex and AOL 8/97
When America
Online <www.aol.com> began offering a flat fee for unlimited use a year
ago, it seemed like a win-win-win situation. Subscribers would pay less
for unlimited service, advertisers would gain millions more online customers,
and AOL would reap the profits. But there was one factor the company overlooked:
Cybersex.
2.
The Beat Goes Online 8/97
Poet Allen Ginsberg and writer William
S. Burroughs were seminal figures of the beat generation. Both died of
heart attacks earlier this year. But their legacy lives online in the Web
pages of beatnik aficionados.
3.
Elvis Online 8/97
He may have sold a billion records
and starred in 33 movies. His musical blending of blues, gospel and hillbilly
may have popularized, if not created, rock and roll. And his swiveling
hips may have done as much to usher in a social and sexual revolution as
pot and the pill. But on the 20th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death,
cyberspace commemorated the King of Rock and Roll mostly with Elvis sightings,
Elvis impersonators, and, of course, Elvis merchandising.
4. Cyberchat
9/97
As I write this column, I am having
a private online conversation with a friend. Only I'm not signed on to
America Online or in some Web-based chat room. Rather, I am using a simple,
free, stand-alone instant messaging software application, the latest conspiracy
by the computer industrial complex to turn us all into cybersluts.
5.
Princess Di Online 9/97
The mainstream media consensus is
that the whole world is mourning the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
But on the unfiltered Internet, emotions amongst the cyber commoners are
decidedly mixed. Equal venom is being spewed at the "stalkarazzi" and the
"people's princess," and, as always, at each other.
6.
alt.sex
9/97
Once upon a time -- just a couple
of years ago, in fact -- there was a place on the Internet where people
with unusual and sometimes unspeakable fetishes could find each other.
Where personal ads were placed for sex with animals, or stuffed animals,
and others indulged their secret obsessions with spanking, chloroform,
even robots.
7.
Guerilla Filmmaking Online 9/97
Ken Tipton wants to make it in Hollywood.
With persistence, and creative marketing on the World Wide Web, the 44-year-old
entrepreneur turned actor, writer, producer and director, just might.
8.
Star Dreck 10/97
I try to avoid reviewing "official"
Web sites. But how can I expect trade-outs, comps and other perks unless
I suck up to promoters? So here's some Web sites I have been "encouraged"
to review. Warning: Some of the following may have been taken verbatim
from press releases.
9.
Cyber Bar 10/97
Billboard Live, a hot new nightclub
on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, aspires to be a watering hole
for music moguls and a launch pad for upcoming bands. It's got all
the right amenities -- bar, restaurant, entertainment, dance floor,
and a members only club in the basement. It's also got enough high tech
gadgetry to give new meaning to "cyber bar."
10.
Streaming Video 10/97
While typing these words into my
computer, I’m watching astronauts aboard the Russian spacecraft Mir give
a press conference. The image on my computer screen is tiny, blurred and
jerky, and the sound fades in and out. Still, I’m able to see and hear
a live feed from outer space on my home computer. What makes this possible
is a new technology called “streaming” audio and video, and NASA TV is
but one of the kewl ways pioneers have been using this new medium.
11.
High Tech Hate 11/97
According to the Anti-Defamation
League, "hate sites" are expanding on the Internet. The ADL says more KKK,
anti-government militias, Holocaust deniers and other "hate and extremist"
groups are going online "to recruit and propagandize, especially targeting
youth." But most hate sites are pretty lame.
12.
Colleges Online 11/97
Applying to college keeps getting
easier, as higher education takes the competition for students into cyberspace.
13.
Cyber Thanksgiving 11/97
For Native Americans, Thanksgiving
is kind of like Woodstock, i.e., the last time they experienced three days
of peace and love with whitey. Here's several Turkey Day Web sites that
separate Thanksgiving facts from fiction.
14.
El Nino El Schnino 11/07
As the 1997-98 version of El Nino
threatens to become the Comet Kahoutek of global weather phenomenon, it's
having a similar impact in cyberspace. There are more than 800 El Nino
Southern Oscillation or "ENSO" Web sites. But so far they aren't making
many waves either.
15.
Worst of the Web 12/97
"Harsh Site of the Day" claims links
to "funny, offbeat and sometimes bizarre" websites. The sites are
nominated by visitors, and I must admit, this Worst of the Web collection
may well be.
16.
Consider a Mac 12/97
For entertainment, education, desktop
publishing, surfing the net and a lot of other activities, the Macintosh
computer is simpler, easier and more fun to use. Period.
17.
Cyber Bingo 12/97
Aunt Alice always loved bingo. Bingo
at the club, bingo at the hall, bingo at family gatherings. Now that
Aunt Alice is older, she doesn't get out as much. But at a website called
"Gamesville," she could play bingo 18 hours a day if she wanted,
without leaving home.
18.
All Things Titanic 12/29/97
At least James Cameron's movie "Titanic"
hasn't spawned an avalanche of merchandising -- no McDonald's boats that
sink in your bathtub. But it has revived an interest in all things Titanic,
and there are plenty of Titanic-related resources on computer.