First Hit: A deep and very interesting look at how quickly and amazingly our lives are being changed through the information space (World Wide Web) and its access through the Internet.
I loved the opening scene where documentarian Werner Herzog walks into a room on the campus of the University of Southern California (USC) where he opens and inspects the very first machine that opened the door to the Internet.
Here is where the first email transmission was sent from an operator in this room to a like room on the campus of Stanford University. In the first attempt, the machine was to automatically logon as soon as soon as the sending machine operator typed in “Log”. However, the receiving machine crashed after the sending machine operator typed “Lo”. Hence the title of this film.
Yes, this initial test didn’t work but as we all know the engineers and programmers learned from this experience and today we have the internet, an amazing communication system through the World Wide Web.
The film discusses, through interviews with the people who founded the internet, how this new way of accessing people and information all over the world instantaneously is helping us connect to each other and also how it is separating us from each other. The personal isolation that can be created, while engaging with others through games, videos, information and emails presents the type of juxtaposition this film attempts to share with the audience. We are connected with each other, yet we are alone when we do it.
I was impressed with the way and discussions about where all this technology can go; robots, space travel, and how it connects people. I loved the examples about how education is moved forward by the internet. I was amazed about how medical problems were discussed and resolved through the use of the interconnected people attacking the problem from all over the world.
Herzog, again, tells an amazing watchable story about the human experience on the internet.
Overall: This was a very thoughtful engaging film.