Nye continues, "Americans adopted electrical technologies in a wide range of social, political, economic, and aesthetic contexts, weaving them into the fabric of experience" How did electricity enter everyday life in America?
David Nye explores how electricity seeped into and redefined American culture. With an eye for telling details and a broad understanding of cultural and social history, he creates a thought-provoking panorama of a technology fundamental to modern life.Nye treats electrification as a set of technical possibilities that were selectively adopted and how it became an extension of political ideologies, how it virtually created the image of the modern city, and how it even pervaded colloquial speech, confirming the values of high energy and speed that have become hallmarks of the twentieth century.
Electrifying America combines chronology and topicality to examine the major forms of light and power as they came into general use. It shows that in the city electrification promoted a more varied landscape and made possible new art forms and new consumption environments. In the factory, electricity permitted a complete redesign of the size and scale of operations, shifting power away from the shop floor to managers. Electrical appliances redefined domestic work and transformed the landscape of the home, while on the farm electricity laid the foundation for today's agribusiness.
David E. Nye is Professor of History, Center for American Studies, University of Southern Denmark. He was awarded the 2005 Leonardo Da Vinci Medal, presented by the Society for the History of Technology.
Networking the Globe: Economic Implications of Online Social Networks
When you consider David Nye's quote "A technology is not merely a system of machines with certain functions; it is part of a social world", you can easily apply the same context to the emergence of social networks. Mr. Nye's book speaks to the impact of electricity as the medium which caused significant social change. Put the same context into the medium of social networks and what would one conclude?
Are individuals, corporations, institutions and society in general adopting social networking technologies in a wide range of social, political, economic, and aesthetic contexts, weaving them into the fabric of experience?
Based on the adoption, advancement of the technological medium and creative application of the technology one would conclude that we are weaving them into the fabric of our everyday experiences.
What say you?