Willian Gibson: It Changed the Night they Turned it on

A friend of mine was mining YouTube last month and he came up with footage shot in the street in New York on a particular day, in the evening. And he knew that this footage was shot the day before broadcast television began in New York. So this footage is of the last night that streets in New York were the way they were before everyone started staying home to watch television. All the footage that he's been able to find afterward is dramatically different. It changed. It changed the night they turned it on. The night they started to broadcast television in New York, New York ceased to be what it had been before. Because everyone stayed home to watch television.

Willian Gibson on what happens when we turn on the Internet

Victrola has always been a tough place to find a table, especially on weekends, so limiting the wifi is pretty much a no-brainer. Nonetheless, the news stories we're seeing are full of controversy and hand-wringing about the demise of cafe culture and the menace of wi-fi zombies.

NPR: Seattle Coffee Shop turns off Wi-fi on the Weekends