A misnomer, though less-so this time.
I won't jump into the argument about whether the concept of web surfing is
derived from the couch potato activity of channel surfing, or from the physical
activity of surfing waves. Numerous times I've noted that I prefer the latter,
though a good case can be made for it being the former. Of course web surfing
is quite different from channel surfing. It demands much more attention and concentration,
and the web surfer has to make more decisions concerning what to do next than
his television-watching counterpart. For me, the idea of surfing a wave - of starting
out in one place and ending up somewhere entirely different, even though it's
basically the same wave - is a wonderful metaphor for the experience that associative
linking (and, of course, clicking) offers us. I definitely prefer to identify
with metaphorical ancestors who brave the waves rather than those who might simply
be sitting in front of the television.
If, at this stage of this column, I'm examining attempts to make the web experience
easier on the reader/surfer, it's hard to deny that "easier" almost
automatically suggests organization and structure. Haphazard clicking doesn't
make for an easy web experience, unless, of course, we don't care where
we end up. That being the case, if I refer to the person I'm imagining a
web surfer doing so seems to place a premature value judgment on the web experience
achieved by that person. Calling him or her a web reader seems considerably
more neutral.
Go to: Dr. Hierarchy and Mr. Associative