It’s the 4th of July and there’s no one online to celebrate. Overnight, the web has become a ghost town as humans (seemingly all of them) ritualistically leave their online abodes once a year to perform certain offline activities. (Which is a shame, seeing as we released our first program ever on the 4th of July too!) So where do the people go? Why isn’t anyone online, celebrating?
It seems that the internet, with all its superficial relationships on Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, and dozens more just can’t keep up with the fireworks display, Independence Day Sales, and other activities that people cherish – seemingly more than the internet!
But more importantly, is the web so America-centric that a holiday shared by only the inhabitants of a single country causes the entire internet to come to a screeching halt? Sure, if you go to region-specific websites, it is business as normal – but what about the rest of the (generic) web?
On this one day where all of America turns its computers off, there is less activity than on Christmas and New Years were a (large) percentage of people from all around the globe leave their online identities aside and go to visit family and friends (and party 24/7).
Is the entire concept of an “international web” a (pitiful) attempt at being “politically correct?” Is the internet this dependent on the United States of America and its internet-surfing denizens?
This isn’t in any way, shape, or form meant to belittle or understate the importance of the non-English speaking corners of the web which still flourish (today, too) more than ever – but it’s a question that had to be asked. After all, English is the surrogate tongue of technology and the internet in particular for all people and nations1 – so how come most of the English-speaking web has just s.t.o.p.p.e.d.?
You’ll have to wait until tomorrow – or more than likely, Monday – for an answer, because the jury is still out eating barbequed chicken & beef and watching pretty colors in the sky.
NeoSmart Technologies included – we’re not based in America, yet we’re still posting and programming away in the Anglo-Saxon language ↩
Unfortunatley, if the US were to suddenly cease to exist, the Internet would brutally crash. This is because a shit load of the Internet lies on servers in the US, and I believe ICANN is also in the US, so gTLDs would be screwed too… 😛
Well then, let’s all hope America goes right on along existing – for the sake of the web and everyone on it 🙂