Stuart Moulthrop, in his essay contained in The World Wide Web and Contemporary Cultural Theory, seems to put forth an interesting argument: that the World Wide Web doesn’t actually exist. To be perfectly honest, I had difficulty following Moulthrop’s argument, but I do want to comment on some of the issues that he raised in his essay.

On page 262 of The World Wide Web and Contemporary Cultural Theory, Moulthrop writes "[i]n the case of hypertext, what you see is only a small part of what you conceptually get. The text is not all there in a literal sense, and yet what is not visible or present matters very much." I find this to be an interesting point. For me, when I am reading a hypertext and see all of the hyperlinks to other "bits" of information, I frequently find the situation to be overwhelming (particularly in instances where I am reading about a topic that I am not innately familiar with.) For example, one of my favorite websites for information related to the exploration of space is Mark Wade’s Encyclopedia Astronautica (www.astronautix.com). However, when I am seeking a particular nugget of information (say, how many days the Skylab 4 astronauts were in orbit around the earth,) and I follow links to the main page about that mission (www.astronautix.com/flights/skylab4.htm) I am immediately shown that there are links to many other topics related to the information contained in that page. I start to feel slightly panicked, as I realize that I am going to have to "dig" for specific information and to attempt to ignore the links, as they will distract me from my quest. On the other hand, those links might lead me directly to the information that I am looking for, or to some other tidbit that I might find more interesting. Regardless of where the links lead to, though, I am acutely conscious of the fact that much more information is "hidden" behind the text that I am currently viewing. And because I am conscious of the fact, I read a hypertext differently than I read a printed text (where I just "assume" that all of the information that I need will be automatically provided to me.)

Also on page 262 (and on to page 263) Moulthrop encourages his readers to contemplate the idea of what "we" (the readers of hypertext, I guess) mean to the Web. I am not exactly certain what the point is that Moulthrop is attempting to make in this section. However, I do find it interesting that the author makes reference to one of my favorite science-fiction writers, William Gibson. Moulthrop quotes Gibson, saying that Gibson "…called the technology a ‘consensual hallucination’ – illusion, mirage, mass-mediated phantasm". (page 264) I feel that this is actually an interesting point being made by Gibson and Moulthrop. The idea that humans have "imagined" the Web into appearing as a tangible object, when in fact all that exists are little electronic bits of information is rather intriguing.

Still later in the essay, and again on page 264, Moulthrop mention’s Bruce Sterling’s point that "…we live in a science fiction world." I was taken aback by this statement, though I do remember reading it years ago (being a fan of Sterling’s work.) As I read and reread this quote, I keep thinking about how someone thirty years ago would not have believed the world that we live in today. To someone from the early 1970s, the idea that so much of the western world would be relying so heavily on computers in daily work and personal activities, to say nothing of the appearance of other new technologies that we do not even think about today, would be beyond their ability to comprehend: we really are living in a science fiction world. Or, perhaps, we are living in a reality that has been predicted through science fiction. (After all, the genre of cyber-punk writing argues that "the street will find its own uses for technology", which is what we are witnessing today.) It is not possible to imagine where the idea or "mass hallucination" of the Web will take us in the future, but I do find the idea rather exciting.

The final point that Moulthrop makes, that I want to comment upon, is how he looks at "e-commerce" (specifically in reference to Amazon.com). The author explains how he was looking for a book on-line, went to Amazon, and then decided against the purchase based on some other reader’s poor reviews of the text. He points out that you would not find an "Avoid" sticker on any books at mass retailers. (page 273) I feel that Moulthrop is making an important point about the Web: the Web is changing how we function, for better or worse. However, it is not possible to currently predict where these changes will take us. I know that, at least for myself, I tend to read the additional "reviews" at Amazon (and other on-line retailers) and sometimes base my decision on whether or not to purchase a specific book on those reviews. When I am wandering around a large bookstore (especially one of the "mega-chains" that are driving the individual retailers out of business) I receive almost no feedback about books, unless from another customer. At this point in my life, when book shopping, I seek out independent stores, where I know I will be given advice, or I do my shopping "on the Web", where I can read about the texts I am considering purchasing.