Cyberspace and Profits

Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject Politics - Miscellaneous, grade: Distinction, Flinders University (Social Sciences), course: Globalization and Communication, language: English, abstract: With the introduction of the Internet another imaginary world has been created, otherwiseknown as “cyberspace”, which has produced an “information revolution”. The world ofcyberspace was developed through the use of a computer network connected via phonelinesthroughout the world. The growth of the Internet means that everyone fromanywhere around the world can become a part of the global village and communicate nomatter what their wealth status is. Data is exchanged freely, as there is no longer theneed for circuits; therefore no restrictions apply as to the destination of the data. Throughcyberspace, no rules, structure or true identity exist, as a new identity can be created atany one time.1 For example, if you were male and wanted to portray yourself as female,Cyberspace would allow that to happen.Ever improving communication technologies and globalisation have changed the worldinto a global village. The “information revolution” has made it possible for us to instantlycommunicate worldwide and therefore has altered our economic behaviour. It is nowpossible to do almost anything in cyberspace, and certainly business can be done via theweb and hence profits can be gained or lost.Howard Rheingold summarised cyberspace as “the conceptual space where words,human relationships, data, wealth and power are manifested by people using CMC[computer mediated communications] technology”.2 [...]1 Martin Dodge & Rob Kitchin, Mapping Cyberspace, Routledge, London, 2001, p.2-5.2 Howard Rheingold quoted by Brian D. Loader,’ The Governance of Cyberspace:Politics, Technology and Global Restructuring’, in Brian Loader (ed), The Governance ofCyberspace: Politics, Technology and Global Restructuring, Routledge, London, 1997,p.1.