During the research for my novel Crossing Live, I came across the following video compilation from the NBC Today Show, where the hosts attempt to answer the question: What is the internet anyway?
Crossing Live is set in the world of television news in 1990. This was a time before the internet achieved its dominance in the delivery of news, when most of us didn’t have access to a computer, let alone the internet. And few of us understood what the internet was. So, who better than the Today Show team to ask on our behalf: What is the internet anyway?
The compilation is from the mid-90s and it shows how little any of us understood about the impact that the internet was about to have on our lives. The video contains gems like Bryant Gumbel asking what the @ symbol is. “You know, with the a and the little ring around it.” It’s a must watch if you want see that life was like before the internet.
In case the embedded video doesn’t work, click on this link to view it directly on the NBC Today Show site:
https://www.today.com/video/-what-is-internet-katie-couric-bryant-gumbel-are-puzzled-62308421624
If you’d like to know more about Crossing Live, there’s more about the story here.