Just when Wall Street thinks they have the Internet all figured out, something pops up to remind us of how pin headed and narrow minded us mere mortals be. Such a master work is Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash". Neal likens the creation of the Internet to the pre biblical programming of mankind itself. Programing and creation are in his view one and the same, and you can't fail to be impressed with the depths of research revealed to support his argument. The fun starts when  the  Deity de jour allows man to receive the Mythological "Fire" causing us to free fall out of Paradise into this boiling cauldron called "the real world".

Alas but all is not lost! A new Paradise is being created or programmed if you prefer. A virtual city known as the Metaverse is where everybody that's anybody goes these days. One simply jumps into his or her's avitar (virtual skin - ask a Quake player) and strolls, rides, boogies or surfs from one mega-event to another. You and I can both go as anything we like! Smell the flowers, dance the night away, tell the boss to 'shove it" maybe even start a company that eats his lunch. In the Metaverse you can  have a hell of a good time! So what if you get sliced and diced by a some irate Ninja Warrior! Don't worry, you can return as soon as they "flush" your remains out of the system.

Beyond the heroes and the bad guys; the pre biblical programming theory, the Metaverse as envisioned in Snow Crash is no doubt the future of the Internet. And no one has it sewed up! It is still a seething cosmic mass virtually unexplored and largely uninhabitable right now. If the Internet could be likened to space, we have established a few token space colonies but still lack the rocket to get the public there! But be warned that when they finally arrive it will be what they want that determines who wins and who losses!
Snow Crash anyone?
P.S. Snow Crash was published 8 years ago!
JGM
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