information superhighway
Global data conduit
Information superhighway is a dated term for the Internet, popular in the early 1990s when widespread public access was new.
The metaphor imagined data flowing like traffic on a high-speed highway system.
The term now sounds quaint, a relic of the era when going online still seemed revolutionary: The information superhighway will transform how we communicate.
Final twentieth-century decade
- dot-comWeb-based commercial enterprise
- Al GoreFormer vice president, environmentalist
- AOLEarly internet provider
- dial-upPhone-line internet connection
Netscape · World Wide Web · Clinton administration · futurism · digital revolution · pioneering · cyber-
Light-carrying cable technology
- broadbandFast internet access
- backboneVertebral column, or courage
- bandwidthData transmission capacity
- telecommunicationsRemote signal transmission technology
cable · satellite · wireless · router · modem · ISP · DSL · gateway
Unequal access to computers/internet
- connectivityState of being linked
- accessibilityEase of approach
- coverageExtent of inclusion
- signalMessage-conveying cue
hotspot · Wi-Fi · universal access · underserved · rural broadband · public library · democratization · inclusion
Casual internet exploration
- netizenActive online participant
- online communityDigital gathering place online
- virtual communityWeb-based social group
- chat roomsOnline group discussion venues
forums · internet culture · cyberculture · netiquette · webinar · bulletin board · newsgroup · lurker
Highway without tolls
- expresswayLimited-access highway
- arteryOxygen-rich blood conduit
- corridorEnclosed connecting walkway
- thoroughfareMain public road
roadway · on-ramp · off-ramp · traffic · congestion · lanes · interchange · tollbooth
1990s
Final twentieth-century decade
- dot-comWeb-based commercial enterprise
- Al GoreFormer vice president, environmentalist
- AOLEarly internet provider
dial-up · Netscape · World Wide Web · Clinton administration · futurism · digital revolution · pioneering · cyber-
fiber-optic
Light-carrying cable technology
- broadbandFast internet access
- backboneVertebral column, or courage
- bandwidthData transmission capacity
telecommunications · cable · satellite · wireless · router · modem · ISP · DSL · gateway · switch
digital divide
Unequal access to computers/internet
- connectivityState of being linked
- accessibilityEase of approach
- coverageExtent of inclusion
signal · hotspot · Wi-Fi · universal access · underserved · rural broadband · public library · democratization · inclusion · equity
web surfing
Casual internet exploration
- netizenActive online participant
- online communityDigital gathering place online
- virtual communityWeb-based social group
chat rooms · forums · internet culture · cyberculture · netiquette · webinar · bulletin board · newsgroup · lurker · flaming
freeway
Highway without tolls
- expresswayLimited-access highway
- arteryOxygen-rich blood conduit
- corridorEnclosed connecting walkway
thoroughfare · roadway · on-ramp · off-ramp · traffic · congestion · lanes · interchange · tollbooth · bottleneck
information superhighwaydigital divide
Unequal access to computers/internet
information blackout · offline · disconnection · media blackout · censorship
information superhighwaysnail mail
Physical letter delivery
pony express · carrier pigeon · telegraph · town crier · oral tradition
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