I really enjoy the readings that discuss the concept of ‘networks’. This one did this in quite a bit of depth (and length).
Firstly, it stated that it’s a mistake to give ‘the network’ a common meaning and assimilate it to the network of a train, tram or telephone ‘network’.
“Nothing is more intensely connected, more distant, more compulsory and more strategically organized than a computer network. “
The proximity point was interesting; it essentially said that one advantage with ‘the network’ is that something that is miles and miles away can be right next to you. Geographic location doesn’t even matter! This is true regarding with my post the other night about my friend whose in Paris at the moment! He’s on the other side of the globe but the network allows him to be closer to me than my sister sitting on the couch next to me.
No network is larger than the other, it can simply be longer or more intensely connected. The notion of a network dissolves the small and large scale distinctions. It also allows us to get rid of a ‘third spatial dimension’ –> the inside/outside distinctions. A network is all boundary without inside and outside.
Those are the main points that I was able to comprehend and really engage with!