3 ms·

Just being cynical here, but books written by people from far away places have circulated for a lot longer than the internet has been around.

• drcube 13y ago
  Not just anybody. You had to have a publisher, and it took weeks to years to get a piece published. Which means nothing got published if there wasn't a chance at a monetary return. The web is a significant improvement if you ask me.
  • criley2 13y ago
    Before Gutenberg et al, you had to have someone spend weeks or months to hand copy your book, one at a time. To me, the web is just the next step in the improvement in the publishing of the written word. I don't see it as different than a book.
    • bonobo 13y ago
      First time my in-laws saw "the book" they were trying to find information about vacation spots in Brazil but their grandpa's diaries were obsolete, I found a printed book a monk had written up about where the best places to stay and see were in Brazil. I could almost see the dots connect when they realized that someone they didn't know, in Brazil, had written up a piece of information at some point that they were now seeing and using, and many people could do that. It was like looking into the darkness and suddenly seeing a firefly blinking :-) ... My point here is, the printing press had it's impact, nobody denies that. Seeing the times changing is what leaved ChuckMcM's in-laws astounded.