I just today came across the Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia which uses the amazing breadth of the Internet to create a collaborative work of impressive size. It's one of the things that could not have existed before the Internet (OK, there was no technical reason it could not have existed, but logistically, there's no way it would have been anything like the size and breadth), and therefore part of the New World that has been, simultaneously, over-hyped and under-reported.
Similar New World of the Net: I was going to compare this to the people who sold their bookstore via an Essay Contest, where they charged a $250 entry fee, hoped to get 2,000 or so entries, and "give" away their store to the winner, pocketing $500,000 and finding a wonderful new owner in the process. Again, this could have happened before the Internet, but it's hard to imagine finding 2,000 people willing to spend $250 each to have a slight chance to win a bookstore in Roseburg, OR. Sadly, they still couldn't find 2,000, or even 200 people, so the New World of the Net is still undiscovered. I did find another bookstore Essay Contest; this one indicates the winner will be chosen in December 2001, and I have no idea whether it was successful or not. The essaycontests.com website doesn't lead me to believe that a whole bunch of stores have actually been sold that way, other than as corporate promotions.
Thank you,
-Vardibidian.