The Global Village of the Internet

From: The Medium is the Massage (1967) by Marshal McLuhan

In 1967, there was no widespread use of The Internet, there were no chat rooms, there wasn't social networking, and there certainly wasn't Skype. The latest innovation in information technology was the color TV set. Despite this, Marshal McLuhan made a fantastic prediction that "electronic interdependence recreates the world in the image of a global village."

A few years ago, I found myself in the conundrum of whether I should capitalize the word "Internet." In a 2004 Wired article, copy chief Tony Long proclaims that it shall now be the standard for the publication to not capitalize Internet. In the article he states that Internet is nothing more than "another medium for delivering and receiving information."

A more recent article written by Dan Bloom of The Wrap implies that the capitalization of the word is still standard in newspapers, and he argues that we should realize that the Internet is not "some uppercase novelty." He lists seven reasons as follows:

1. We will, as a society, have finally acknowledged a deep shift in the way we think about the online world.

2. We will, as a society, have given substance to the belief, finally, that the internet is part of the everyday universe and not some uppercase novelty.

3. We will have come to understand that capitalization of internet earlier in history seemed to imply that reaching into the vast, interconnected ether was a brand-name experience when it really wasn't.

4. We will have realized that the earlier capitalization of internet seemed to place an inordinate, almost private emphasis on it, turning it into a Kleenex or a Frigidaire. But we now know that the internet, at least philosophically, should not be owned by anyone and that it is really part of the neural universe of life.

5. We will have realized that the digital revolution is over, the internet won and is now part of everyone's life, as common as air and water (neither of which starts with a capital letter).

6. We will have realized that the moment was right to treat the internet the way we now refer to the movies, television, radio and, dare I mention it, the telephone.

7. We will have realized that the New York Times was right back in 2002 when it said that there was some virtue in the theory that the internet was becoming a generic term, and that it would not be surprising to see lowercase usage eclipse uppercase usage within a few years.

By now you probably realize that I still capitalize The Internet. Why? To be honest, it's for many of the same reasons that Mr. Bloom stated above. I believe that The Internet is a means of communication, but I also believe that it is much, much more than that. The Internet as I see it is a proper noun referring to the global cosmopolitan city that stretches beyond the borders of sovereign states. It is in many ways one of the final frontiers in our society.

When referring to such things as internet service or internet providers, lack of capitalization makes sense, but when we refer to The Internet as a synonym to the World Wide Web, I believe we should give it the same respect we give to countries and cities.

The Internet is a diverse cosmopolitan city, with many roads, districts, social lounges, movie theaters, art galleries, directories to help you find your way, and most importantly libraries full of free information. The most fascinating part of this city is that you can easily become a co-creator of the world. You can easily register a blog and begin building a newspaper company on the corner of the street. You can log into YouTube and start broadcasting your own show.

When our society sees The Internet as a city we all reside in, we can begin appreciating the diversity of our world.

-Michael Cox