The Communication Superhighway

The communication superhighway, or the information superhighway as it is often called, does not exist. It is an idea, the conceptualization of which will largely shape its final realization and use. As the crowining glory of the post-industrial age, its potential is as great as it is indeterminate. From e-mail to cable television, remote diagnostics to telesurgery, from video-conferencing to online education, its social and economic impact will be as fundamental as it is technological. This volume analyzes the social and economic perspectives of the superhighway, and provides tools of analysis to continue the quest. Anchored in the traditional disciplines of sociology, economics, geography and technology studies, those tools are independent of the ultimate features of the superhighway. As well as coming to terms with the social and economic impact, the book canvasses the social construction versus technological determinism debate, and offers an understanding of the change and education processes needed for new but essential forms of communication. The first part of the book is explanatory, demystifying the emerging technologies and the social context of that technological revolution. The second part is exploratory, examining the impact, present and future, of the communication superhighway on its two major institutional targets - organizations and the consumer economy. The superhighway has already changed the way we do business, and its potential to alter consumption patterns and processes has not yet been stretched. The final part of the book draws out the conceptual tools and principles needed for the continuing analysis of the phenomenon.