Dmitry Essering. Texts about hypertext: 8

Texts about hypertext: 8
Dmitry Essering

Date of publication: October 24, 2001

Over the past few days, the Internet has been replenished with a number of interesting projects, the appearance of which is impossible not to note. These projects seem to be intended for Russian-speaking users, but some of them are of foreign origin, moreover, of separatist origin.

Let's start with the latter - with the separatists, or at least with those smart characters who, hiding behind this odious name, tell ordinary Russians about what is happening in our big world.

So, at the most crucial moment in the struggle of the world democratic community against the terrorist international, domestic Chechen extremists, masquerading, according to some information, as peaceful French or American citizens (see here ) again showed interest in the World Wide Web. They offered users another information product, which is called the “Press Center of the President of Ichkeria” and is located at chechen.com.

In fact, as you know, military operations have been going on on the territory of Chechnya for a long time and with not all obvious success; every day someone is actually blown up and even killed. And the Chechens, who call Chechnya a state, probably take out hidden weapons at night and go to kill their enemies - Russians and traitors. That is, everything happens for real, with blood. But the Internet, of course, is a different matter. The Internet, by definition, is a virtual business, for all its virtuality, however, it effectively copes with the tasks posed by reality. Perhaps the terrorists who crashed into American buildings were really counting on intimidation in the media space, when their last minutes could be endlessly savored both on television and on our Internet. When the unfortunate Americans probably shuddered in horror and sobbed in fear. But the same horror and fear experienced through the media, the same monstrous experience of shaking can justify tons of bombs dropped on partly civilian residents of distant Afghanistan, and dozens of American soldiers who will probably go home only in zinc coffins. It is not entirely clear who ultimately emerged victorious in this media event on October 11: either those who provoked it, or those who were provoked; but it is absolutely clear that the assigned tasks - false or true - were solved through the media.

The Americans, meanwhile, began an information war. We have been conducting this in parallel with local separatists for a long time. There is no clarity: are we provoking or are we giving in? We read the messages of the " State News Agency Chechenpress " and learn about the latest international events in an even, calm and literate presentation (considerations about literacy, as can be seen from the quote, do not concern Russian grammar and punctuation):

The meeting of the leaders of the world's leading states, held in Shanghai, the largest city in China, has ended. At this meeting, the forum participants adopted an agreement under which the parties pledged to jointly fight against the threat of international terrorism, as well as to suppress the actions of states that provide nuclear technology to states that support terrorism. A meeting between Russian President Putin and US President George W. Bush took place in Shanghai, at which the parties discussed issues related to the post-war structure of Afghanistan, as well as the issue of missile defense, which had previously been a stumbling block between the Kremlin and the White House. The Russian President agreed with the arguments of the American President, who said that this treaty is outdated and poses a danger to the world. Russia supported military strikes on Afghanistan, declaring the need to bring the military operation to its logical conclusion.

Let's go to the Forum section. And there “We study the Chechen language” and even discuss “The work of the GIA Chechenpress website.” Plus a little separatist rhetoric, news agency reports, arranged with suitable phraseology and, probably, outright disinformation. In a word, the battle against the backdrop of collapsing skyscrapers is completely peaceful. Of course, the Russian occupiers are terrorizing peaceful Chechens, but who needs to once again relay this already well-worn phrase to the peaceful Chechens or the brutal occupiers is another question. The attitude towards the magical effect of the word has somehow changed over the past month. Today, as in the good old days, business is valued.

Now about completely peaceful things. About the extremely noble educational mission that Yandex, in collaboration with the Zavalishins, placed on its powerful shoulders. About that “ Internet-Russian phrasebook ”, which everyone could enjoy the other day.

Despite the frivolous (moreover, playful) name, the phrasebook is a serious and meaningful read. He:

is intended for everyone who wants to know what the Internet is: concepts and characters, events and phenomena, life and customs. The main questions that the book answers: “what happens on the Internet?” and “what can you do on the Internet?” A separate section is dedicated to those who are interested in the Internet as a means of marketing and PR. The book does not require any initial preparation from the reader. It can be read in a row, like an entertaining guide to the Internet. It can also be used as a reference book, clarifying the meanings of unfamiliar words.

That is, it is clear that it is absolutely not clear who is, so to speak, the target audience of this interesting reference book. What is hidden under the opaque wording of “initial training”? Is it about the first four grades of education, when they teach you to read, write and some even think, or about some fashionable and widespread courses in Internet skills?.. Well, God bless her, with preparation, let’s not be scholastics, it’s better Let's look through this entertaining guide to the Internet. Let's try to enlighten ourselves. Let’s imagine ourselves as neophytes who have just seized upon the benefits of the World Wide Web and let’s begin... You know where we’ll start - from porn sites:

(English: porno site, adult site, xxx-site) A site for adults containing texts and images, which in our country are usually designated as “children under 16”. There is a legend that the main content of the Internet and the main interest of its users is pornography. Like many other legends about the Internet, it is not true. Landing on a porn site by accident is almost impossible, and finding one requires a concerted effort. According to search engine statistics, less than a percent of users make such efforts.

Having missed the archetypal, being clouded by dirty legends, let’s turn to something closer, to the “Internet media” section, and there we learn that:

The Internet can be considered a media environment similar to television, radio and the press. The Internet has its own media, general and industry-specific. Some of them are registered as regular media, but this is still the exception rather than the rule. Internet media (e-media) is understood as a regularly updated information site that enjoys a certain popularity and authority (having its own permanent audience). Most online media is updated daily or even continuously throughout the day. Due to this immediacy, online media are often used as sources of information for conventional media. Many regular (“offline”) newspapers and magazines have their offices on the Internet. They often post materials from their issues there, and sometimes even create an independent online publication. Surveys show that the Internet audience's trust in information received from the Internet is higher than trust in other information media. Therefore, working with online media is an important component of a PR company.

Agree, the original definition of Internet media. It (if it is an honest media, of course, and not some kind of media): popular, authoritative, updated, credible, operational, and, moreover, a source of information for traditional, mossy, unsuspecting publications, ordinary media. And who said that online is secondary, who came up with some kind of “Influence Ratings”?

On the other hand, how else to work with neophytes, how to explain to them the magnitude of the phenomenon? Peace, work, internet, correct lifestyle.

Finally: be sure to read the work under the tempting title “The Virtual World of the Power System,” written by Maria Valova, Doctor of Economic Sciences, Professor of the Department of Political Science and Political Management of the Russian Civil Civil Service under the President of the Russian Federation. with the kind permission of the Public Service magazine The work is published here .

In order to intrigue you a little, let us quote: Analyzing our [our government agencies - D.E.] web pages, you can’t help but think: if on Western pages they are not embarrassed to use virtual images, sometimes simply imposing their will on a “visiting” visitor, why Are we all much more modest? Is our goal only to inform? I doubt.

This is a fair doubt, especially since individual government agencies have already learned to comprehensively and effectively use the information and communication potential of the Internet. Exactly one year later, in October 2002, Russians will meet on the thresholds of their apartments servants of the State Statistics Committee, which already, in 2001, presented the mega-portal perepis2002.ru to the public. This undertaking is interesting, firstly, for its international scale (see the “Useful Links” section), and, secondly, for the participation in it of the famous network figure Ruben Makarov. Well, the budget is probably being spent successfully.