Information Highway metaphors

[everett <everett@CHS.ORG>]

I finally took a few minutes to flip through the entire transcript that NPR
sent me for the 29 December 1993 show that contained the Blumberg stuff and
discovered--mirablile dictu--the piece on the metaphors applied to the
Information Highway.  It was not where I expected it to be.  At any rate,
here it is, copyright by National Public Radio and repriduced with no
permission whatsoever.

                A Humorous Look at the Highway Metaphor

Robert Siegel, host:  A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a story in
which I noted that when it comes to cable television, traffic does not
appear to be bumper to bumper on the information super highway.  I winced
as I wrote that line and was overcome with remorse sometime later because I
had just contributed to a wave of metaphor-abuse.  I had used the most
abused metaphor of 1993.  I had littered the cyberspace roadside, soiling
the soft shoulders of the newspeak turnpike by tossing a hackneyed metaphor
out the Word Perfect window while driving.  All year long, the information
highway metaphor has been inescapable.  Congressman Ed Markey of
Massachusetts called for "rules of the road so that there are no accidents
on the super highway."  According to Newsweek, "deep technical and
financial potholes lie ahead."  Bill Davidson of the University of Southern
California told the L.A. Times, "We have a great information highway, but
there are no access ramps."

Allen Weiss of Advanced Networks and Services told the New York Times,
"after you get off the ramp from the data highway, you have to wait in line
at the gas station."  I, for one, resolve to swear off this imagery.
But an informational sampling of those who survey the info highway turned
up some unrepentant metaphor makers.

This is Josh Hyatt from the Boston Globe.  On November 28th, I wrote, "They
fear that companies like Bell Atlantic Corp. will seek profitable customers
in densely packed areas, while remote, rural dwellers and the inner city
poor find themselves without an affordable on-ramp."  This was early on in
the metaphorical battles over the information super highway and I'd
probably do it again.  I probably already have done it again.

I'm Amy Harmon with the Los Angeles Times.  I spent a lot of time
Trying to figure out how Hollywodd fit in on the information super highway:
was it an exit? was it an on-ramp?  was it a detour that the phone and cable
companies had to make on the way to building the super highway.  My
favorite was a quote from a guy named Matt Miller at General Instruments.
He called it the "all singing, all dancing, high band with digital
interactive media highway."

This is John Marcoff.  I cover Silicon valley for the New York Times.  In
November I wrote a story that talked about traffic jams on the Internet.  I
called them the digital equivalent of driving by the scene of an accident.
I quoted Mark Rodenberg, who's the Washington Director of Computer
Professionals for Social Responsibility as saying it was a traffic jam
caused by rubber neckers on the nation's data highway.  Now, will you let
me defend myself?  After all, this is the daily news business and
oftentimes we can't give people real understanding.  So what we do is we give
them the illusion of understanding.

This is Jeff Greenfield of ABC News.  I can lay claim to one
metaphorical leaf of faith.  Last November when I spoke to the Magazine
Publishers of America, I asked the musical question, are we all gonna be
roadkill on the information highway?  I don't fell any guilt about
this kind of metaphor.  When you create the mega-metaphor of information
super highway, you're just begging for piling on.  So I think when it comes
to the information super highway, we should just pile into the RV and just
load up the roof rack with metaphors nad have a ball.

Siegel:  This is NPR, National Public Radio.

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                     Everett C. Wilkie, Jr.
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