Local Dialing Changed the Dynamic of the Bollton Board System

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Local dialing was the way. And most bulleton board systems were local. It meant that people that you were talking to on the board, while they might be using pseudonyms and handles,. it was very possible that they were people you went to school with or worked with. The system operators would verify users by voice phone all so they would come and see, like, someone has come. They want to join the bolton board. Here's their home phone number, and give them a call and belike, i saw that. You call the board. I'm kevin. We talk about whatever, astronomy and volley ball. Hear if you're into that, that would be cool

Paris Marx is joined by Kevin Driscoll to discuss the networks and services built by volunteers and hobbyists on top of the telephone network before the internet took over the in the 1990s, and what it can teach us about the internet and social media today.

Kevin Driscoll is the author of The Modem World: A Prehistory of Social Media and an associate professor in the Department of Media Studies at the University of Virginia. Follow Kevin on Twitter at @kevindriscoll.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

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