The idea of being an 'interstitial node' makes me think about the internet and global networks in a completely different way. I look at is as a series of swarms or aglomerations of small networks, connected to larger networks. With the advances in web design, everyone is effectively becoming much closer to one another, and the world is becoming smaller. Networking sites work with other networking sites, and you get 'track backs'. As a result I feel like there's no longer a third party publisher, or anyone controling the content. Much of what has appeared on the web in the past 5 years is user generated, and this is largly thanks to advances in technology. People now have a voice on a global scale, and with the help of facebook, blogger, diggit, youtube etc our work can reach a much larger audience. The networking sites create an online environment where a group of people can thrive and be heard, rather than a single author struggling to get noticed.

Other than your internet bill, the internet is a free method of distribution which we can all take advantage of. You now see viral marketing campaigns stirring up huge amounts of hype online. One of the most memorable of these was the Halo 2 ad campaign where a mysterious site name www.ilovebees.com appeared in a trailer for the game. From that point on, fans of the game went wild, trying to get to the root of the riddle. Rather than spending millions on an advertising through television, radio and magazines, they got the fans of the game to do the hardwork for them. There are specific viral marketing firms who can be hired to set up interest around your product for far cheaper than ever before such as www.rebelvirals.com.

Similarly you also have new ways of distributing large files without having to pay bandwidth fees. The popular BitTorrent client is a hugely successful piece of software which has opened things right up for independant film makers and musicians. www.stealthisfilm.com is film about the history of content sharing and discusses many of the intellectual property arguements that are currently occuring across the world. Other more commercial films have also made use of what's available on the internet to create their work. Snakes on a plane for instance allowed fans to contribute to the film from start to finish, something never attempted before.

What I've discussed here is only a miniscule part of the larger picture, but these are some examples I'm aware of where being connected is changing the world in big ways.