{"id":64999,"date":"2014-01-16T11:10:58","date_gmt":"2014-01-16T16:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/?p=64999"},"modified":"2014-01-16T13:37:24","modified_gmt":"2014-01-16T18:37:24","slug":"a-few-exits-back-on-the-information-superhighway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/16\/a-few-exits-back-on-the-information-superhighway\/","title":{"rendered":"A Few Exits Back on the Information Superhighway"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"plimpton\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Thanks to the unflagging efforts of Archive.org\u2019s Wayback Machine\u2014which has had, since 1996, the unenviable task of preserving as much of the Internet as possible\u2014we recently exhumed the original version of our Web site<\/a>. Better still, we rediscovered these two videos of our late founding editor, George Plimpton.\u00a0In the grainy, hypercompressed format that marked mankind\u2019s earliest forays into digital recording, he helpfully explains where you are and what you might do here.<\/p>\n

These were the days of 28.8k modems, of CompuServe and Netscape, when the word multimedia<\/i> carried a frisson of ultramodern potential. As you watch, you can practically hear the bleat and drone of the dial-up connection. That\u2019s technology, baby. These videos are not high definition. They are virtual fossils. Handle them with care. <\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

What with Moore\u2019s Law<\/a> and all, designs that should feel merely outdated are already full-on quaint. More than anything, our old site reminds us that the Internet was once more literally construed as a location, with \u201csites\u201d portraying themselves as places for weary travelers to rest their heads:<\/p>\n

\"paris<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

The Internet is frontier territory for us, and we\u2019re excited about being here. For those of you who know The Paris Review<\/em>, this electronic forum should offer some new and, we hope, interesting ways to interact with the magazine. For those of you meeting us for the first time, please accept our invitation to browse around \u2026 Come to our \u201coffices\u201d as often as you like. We\u2019ll try to keep things fresh.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s difficult to conceive of this site as an office today, or even as an \u201coffice.\u201d We are, however, still dedicated to keeping things fresh here\u2014wherever here<\/em> may be.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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