ULM Student Research Symposium
Wed., May 5th 2011

  • PowerPoint Slides (PPTX)
  • Video clip for presentation
  • ZIP file with the DOCX paper, PPTX, and video clip

    • Title:
    THE SIGNIFICANCE OF TELEPHONE NETWORKS AS USED FOR BROADCASTING ORIGINAL CONTENT AND SOCIAL NETWORKING BEFORE THE INTERNET AND WORLD WIDE WEB

    Abstract:
    Increased remote communication, social connections, piracy, and user-generated content are among the things closely associated with the World Wide Web of modern times, sometimes called “Web 2.0.” However, such uses of the internet had appeared before in the also nebulously defined “Web 1.0,” and even the pre- WWW “Usenet,” which still exists, demonstrates user interaction and dialogue such as what “Web 2.0” is known for. In order for the YouTube video posting, blogging, and “Podcasting” of today to be regarded as a completely new and original movement, one would have to ignore the fact that home-made telephone broadcasting had ever existed.

    It not widely known that there are examples before the Internet of individuals using wired commutations to broadcast to large audiences. In the 1960s and 1970s people could share their own original content via telephone by building equipment that allowed many people to call them and listen to their recordings. There were numbers anyone could call to listen to what had been made by these ordinary (yet extraordinary) people. For example, “Fluke” was a scripted series with original characters and situations, and there was the popular joke line “ZZZZZZ.” The most famous of all of people to run a joke line is Stephen Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer.

    This is all complicated by the very close association this subject has with “phone phreak” culture. “Phone phreaks” were the progenitors of modern computer hackers and they were able to manipulate telephone networks such as AT&T’s using a variety of methods, including the infamous “Blue Box.” These were illegal, which complicates the availability of sources. Finding and using free “party lines” was another way people could make use of these networks, and they were used for social interaction more than anything else. Historical research on the significance of telephone networks and “phone phreak” culture is not plentiful, but this does not mean that it was not significant.