<nettime> The Hostess (tm) Twinkie: A Theory of the Internet

[carlg@pop.net (Carl Guderian)]

Pretend the Internet can be represented by a Hostess (tm) Twinkie (1). The
fluffy, golden exterior represents the physical structure of the internet:
fast computers, thick wires, dynamic web pages (with audio/video even!),
etc. The whipped lard-and-sugar center is the central idea that supports
the whole industry: namely, the Internet as humankind's Great Work.

Now, watch what happens when we put the Twinkie into a microwave oven and
subject it to a barrage of criticism. The creamy idea evaporates out the
two little holes in the bottom, leaving a black film lining the now empty
core. The Twinkie now looks wrong, smells bad and seems hollow, somehow.
With longer exposure to criticism (especially under the more intense
sacral, haptic and liminal rays produced in French ovens), the Internet
Twinkie turns into a black puddle, completely unfit for consumption by even
the most obtuse Technorealist. You shouldn't be eating so many Twinkies
anyhow; they're junk food. Eat an apple every now and then.







(1) A snack cake having absolutely no food value and therefore a longtime
favorite of U.S. kids.
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