In the beginning of chapter III in Douglas Rushkoff’s Program of be Programmed, he compares physical things to virtual things on a basic level. Physical things, like CD’s, that we are very used to, can have a whole online presence that most people either do not realize or do not care exists.
Everything today is virtual. We live our lives online. We have eBooks, eMail, eCommerce, eEverything. Since we live such a large portion of our loves online and with computers, it is actually surprising that more people do not know computer code. I admit to not knowing a lot (if anything important at all) about computer code and programming. It’s like a second language that makes no sense to me at all. I do, however, use a computer daily. Somehow it does not make sense that I don’t really understand how to truly control an item that I use multiple times a day.
It’s also interesting that Rushkoff makes the comparison of a CD to a physical copy of a text. I never thought of it that way before, but it’s true — we only buy CD’s nowadays for the nostalgia and appeal. Like books on a bookshelf, it’s really more to show off than anything. You can get the same content on a digital platform (iPod, eReader), but there’s just something show-offy about having the physical object in your hand. It’s something I can’t really explain or understand very well.
