"On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog" is an adage and Internet meme about Internet anonymity which began as a caption to a cartoon drawn by Peter Steiner, published by The New Yorker on July 5, 1993.[1][2] The words are those of a large dog sitting on a chair at a desk, with his paw on the keyboard of the computer before him, speaking to a smaller dog sitting on the floor beside him.[3] Steiner had earned between $200,000 and $250,000 by 2013 from its reprinting, by which time it had become the cartoon most reproduced from The New Yorker.[1][4][5][6][7][8] The original was sold at auction, and set a record for the highest price ever paid for a comic.[7][8]
Peter Steiner, a cartoonist and contributor to The New Yorker since 1979,[6] has said that although he did have an online account in 1993, he had felt no particular interest in the Internet then. He drew the cartoon only in the manner of a "make-up-a-caption" item, to which he recalled attaching no "profound" meaning, seeing that it had received little attention initially. He later stated that he felt as if he had created the "smiley face" when his cartoon took on a life of its own, and he "can't quite fathom that it's that widely known and recognized".[1]
On October 6, 2023, the original artwork was sold at a Heritage Auctions sale of illustration art for $175,000.[7][8]
Contextedit
Once the exclusive domain of government engineers and academics, the Internet was by then becoming a subject of discussion in such general interest magazines as The New Yorker. Lotus Software founder and early Internet activist Mitch Kapor commented in a Time magazine article in 1993 that "the true sign that popular interest has reached critical mass came this summer when The New Yorker printed a cartoon showing two computer-savvy canines".[9]
According to Bob Mankoff, then The New Yorker's cartoon editor, "The cartoon resonated with our wariness about the facile façade that could be thrown up by anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of html."[10]
Implicationsedit
The cartoon symbolizes the liberation of one's Internet presence from popular prejudices. Sociologist Sherry Turkle elaborates: "You can be whoever you want to be. You can completely redefine yourself if you want. You don't have to worry about the slots other people put you in as much. They don't look at your body and make assumptions. They don't hear your accent and make assumptions. All they see are your words."[11] This was a view that Steiner says he shares.[7]
The cartoon conveys an understanding of Internet privacy that implies the ability to send and receive messages—or to create and maintain a website—behind a mask of anonymity. Lawrence Lessig suggests that "no one knows" because Internet protocols require no user to confirm their own identity. Although a local access point in, for example, a university may require identity confirmation, it holds such information privately, without embedding it in external Internet transactions.[12]
A study by Morahan-Martin and Schumacher (2000) on compulsive or troublesome Internet use discusses this phenomenon, suggesting the ability to represent one's self behind the mask of a computer screen may be part of the compulsion to go online.[13] The phrase may be taken "to mean that cyberspace will be liberatory because gender, race, age, looks, or even 'dogness' are potentially absent or alternatively fabricated or exaggerated with unchecked creative license for a multitude of purposes both legal and illegal", an understanding that echoed statements made in 1996 by John Gilmore, a key figure in the history of Usenet.[14] The phrase also indicates the ease of computer cross-dressing: representing oneself as of a different gender; age; race; social, cultural, or economic class, etc.[15] In a similar sense, "the freedom which the dog chooses to avail itself of, is the freedom to 'pass' as part of a privileged group; i.e., human computer users with access to the Internet".[15][16]
The cartoon inspired the play Nobody Knows I'm a Dog by Alan David Perkins. The play revolves around six individuals, unable to communicate effectively with people in their lives, who nonetheless find the courage to socialize anonymously on the Internet.[1]
A cartoon by Kaamran Hafeez published in The New Yorker on February 23, 2015, features a similar pair of dogs watching their owner sitting at a computer, with one asking the other, "Remember when, on the Internet, nobody knew who you were?"[18]
^EURSOC Two (2007). . EURSOC. Archived from the original on January 26, 2009. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
^"Everybody Knows You're a Dog / Boing Boing". boingboing.net. 17 October 2013. from the original on 2019-03-28. Retrieved 2019-03-28.
^Fleishman, Glenn (October 29, 1998). "New Yorker Cartoons to Go on Line". The New York Times. from the original on October 22, 2008. Retrieved October 2, 2007.
^ ab. brownsguides.com. January 2011. Archived from the original on 2014-03-12.
^ abcdBerlinger, Max (October 22, 2023). "Auctions: The Most Reprinted 'New Yorker' Cartoon Fetches $175,000 at Auction—the Highest Price Ever Paid for a Single Comic". artnetnews. Artnet, artnet.com. Retrieved October 24, 2023. The cartoon has been printed on mugs and T-shirts, and even inspired a 1995 play.
^ abc"Peter Steiner (American, b. 1940). On The Internet, Nobody Knows You're A Dog". Heritage Auctions. October 6, 2023.
^Elmer-DeWitt, Philip; Jackson, David S. & King, Wendy (December 6, 1993). . Time. Archived from the original on February 5, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
^Cavna, Michael (July 31, 2013). "'Nobody Knows You're a Dog': As iconic Internet cartoon turns 20, creator Peter Steiner knows the joke rings as relevant as ever". Washington Post. from the original on 30 August 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
^Hanna, B.; Nooy, Juliana De (2009). Learning Language and Culture Via Public Internet Discussion Forums. Springer. ISBN9780230235823. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
^Jordan, Tim (1999). "The Virtual Individual". Cyberpower: The Culture and Politics of Cyberspace and the Internet. New York: Routledge. p. 66. ISBN0-415-17078-8.
^Singel, Ryan (September 6, 2007). "Fraudster Who Impersonated a Lawyer to Steal Domain Names Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud". Wired. from the original on October 21, 2008. Retrieved October 2, 2007.
^Ticktin, Neil (February 1996). "Save Cyberdog!". MacTech. 12 (2). from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
^Vidani, Peter (February 23, 2015). "The New Yorker - A cartoon by Kaamran Hafeez, from this week's..." The New Yorker. from the original on September 20, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2016 – via tumblr.com.
^Friedman, Lester D. (2004). Cultural Sutures: Medicine and Media. Durham, N.C: Duke University Press. ISBN0822332949. from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
^Castro-Leon, Enrique; Harmon, Robert (December 22, 2016). Cloud as a Service: Understanding the Service Innovation Ecosystem. Apress. ISBN9781484201039. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
Further readingedit
Jones, Christopher R. (2004). "Nobody knows you're a dog". In Land, Ray & Bayne, Siân (eds.). Education in Cyberspace. New York: Routledge. 105 pages. ISBN0-415-32882-9.
internet, nobody, knows, adage, internet, meme, about, internet, anonymity, which, began, caption, cartoon, drawn, peter, steiner, published, yorker, july, 1993, words, those, large, sitting, chair, desk, with, keyboard, computer, before, speaking, smaller, si. On the Internet nobody knows you re a dog is an adage and Internet meme about Internet anonymity which began as a caption to a cartoon drawn by Peter Steiner published by The New Yorker on July 5 1993 1 2 The words are those of a large dog sitting on a chair at a desk with his paw on the keyboard of the computer before him speaking to a smaller dog sitting on the floor beside him 3 Steiner had earned between 200 000 and 250 000 by 2013 from its reprinting by which time it had become the cartoon most reproduced from The New Yorker 1 4 5 6 7 8 The original was sold at auction and set a record for the highest price ever paid for a comic 7 8 Peter Steiner s 1993 cartoon as published in The New Yorker Contents 1 History 2 Context 3 Implications 4 In popular culture 5 References 6 Further readingHistory editPeter Steiner a cartoonist and contributor to The New Yorker since 1979 6 has said that although he did have an online account in 1993 he had felt no particular interest in the Internet then He drew the cartoon only in the manner of a make up a caption item to which he recalled attaching no profound meaning seeing that it had received little attention initially He later stated that he felt as if he had created the smiley face when his cartoon took on a life of its own and he can t quite fathom that it s that widely known and recognized 1 On October 6 2023 the original artwork was sold at a Heritage Auctions sale of illustration art for 175 000 7 8 Context editOnce the exclusive domain of government engineers and academics the Internet was by then becoming a subject of discussion in such general interest magazines as The New Yorker Lotus Software founder and early Internet activist Mitch Kapor commented in a Time magazine article in 1993 that the true sign that popular interest has reached critical mass came this summer when The New Yorker printed a cartoon showing two computer savvy canines 9 According to Bob Mankoff then The New Yorker s cartoon editor The cartoon resonated with our wariness about the facile facade that could be thrown up by anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of html 10 Implications editThe cartoon symbolizes the liberation of one s Internet presence from popular prejudices Sociologist Sherry Turkle elaborates You can be whoever you want to be You can completely redefine yourself if you want You don t have to worry about the slots other people put you in as much They don t look at your body and make assumptions They don t hear your accent and make assumptions All they see are your words 11 This was a view that Steiner says he shares 7 The cartoon conveys an understanding of Internet privacy that implies the ability to send and receive messages or to create and maintain a website behind a mask of anonymity Lawrence Lessig suggests that no one knows because Internet protocols require no user to confirm their own identity Although a local access point in for example a university may require identity confirmation it holds such information privately without embedding it in external Internet transactions 12 A study by Morahan Martin and Schumacher 2000 on compulsive or troublesome Internet use discusses this phenomenon suggesting the ability to represent one s self behind the mask of a computer screen may be part of the compulsion to go online 13 The phrase may be taken to mean that cyberspace will be liberatory because gender race age looks or even dogness are potentially absent or alternatively fabricated or exaggerated with unchecked creative license for a multitude of purposes both legal and illegal an understanding that echoed statements made in 1996 by John Gilmore a key figure in the history of Usenet 14 The phrase also indicates the ease of computer cross dressing representing oneself as of a different gender age race social cultural or economic class etc 15 In a similar sense the freedom which the dog chooses to avail itself of is the freedom to pass as part of a privileged group i e human computer users with access to the Internet 15 16 In popular culture edit nbsp 2014 US Air Force photo of a dog at a computerThe cartoon inspired the play Nobody Knows I m a Dog by Alan David Perkins The play revolves around six individuals unable to communicate effectively with people in their lives who nonetheless find the courage to socialize anonymously on the Internet 1 The Apple Internet suite Cyberdog was named after this cartoon 17 A cartoon by Kaamran Hafeez published in The New Yorker on February 23 2015 features a similar pair of dogs watching their owner sitting at a computer with one asking the other Remember when on the Internet nobody knew who you were 18 It has become a frequently used refrain in discussions about the Internet 19 and as such has become an Internet meme perhaps iconic to Internet culture 20 References edit a b c d Fleishman Glenn December 14 2000 Cartoon Captures Spirit of the Internet The New York Times Archived from the original on December 29 2017 Retrieved October 1 2007 Aikat Debashis Deb 1993 On the Internet nobody knows you re a dog University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Archived from the original on October 29 2005 Retrieved February 8 2019 EURSOC Two 2007 New Privacy Concerns EURSOC Archived from the original on January 26 2009 Retrieved January 26 2009 Everybody Knows You re a Dog Boing Boing boingboing net 17 October 2013 Archived from the original on 2019 03 28 Retrieved 2019 03 28 Fleishman Glenn October 29 1998 New Yorker Cartoons to Go on Line The New York Times Archived from the original on October 22 2008 Retrieved October 2 2007 a b Brown s Guide to Georgia brownsguides com January 2011 Archived from the original on 2014 03 12 a b c d Berlinger Max October 22 2023 Auctions The Most Reprinted New Yorker Cartoon Fetches 175 000 at Auction the Highest Price Ever Paid for a Single Comic artnetnews Artnet artnet com Retrieved October 24 2023 The cartoon has been printed on mugs and T shirts and even inspired a 1995 play a b c Peter Steiner American b 1940 On The Internet Nobody Knows You re A Dog Heritage Auctions October 6 2023 Elmer DeWitt Philip Jackson David S amp King Wendy December 6 1993 First Nation in Cyberspace Time Archived from the original on February 5 2009 Retrieved March 21 2009 Cavna Michael July 31 2013 Nobody Knows You re a Dog As iconic Internet cartoon turns 20 creator Peter Steiner knows the joke rings as relevant as ever Washington Post Archived from the original on 30 August 2016 Retrieved 6 January 2015 Hanna B Nooy Juliana De 2009 Learning Language and Culture Via Public Internet Discussion Forums Springer ISBN 9780230235823 Retrieved 4 June 2017 Lessig Lawrence 2006 Code Version 2 0 New York Basic Books p 35 ISBN 0 465 03914 6 Taylor Maxwell Quayle Ethel 2003 Child Pornography An Internet Crime New York Psychology Press p 97 ISBN 1 58391 244 4 Jordan Tim 1999 The Virtual Individual Cyberpower The Culture and Politics of Cyberspace and the Internet New York Routledge p 66 ISBN 0 415 17078 8 a b Trend David 2001 Reading Digital Culture Malden Massachusetts Blackwell Publishing pp 226 7 ISBN 0 631 22302 9 Singel Ryan September 6 2007 Fraudster Who Impersonated a Lawyer to Steal Domain Names Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud Wired Archived from the original on October 21 2008 Retrieved October 2 2007 Ticktin Neil February 1996 Save Cyberdog MacTech 12 2 Archived from the original on April 19 2012 Retrieved September 3 2011 Vidani Peter February 23 2015 The New Yorker A cartoon by Kaamran Hafeez from this week s The New Yorker Archived from the original on September 20 2016 Retrieved July 29 2016 via tumblr com Friedman Lester D 2004 Cultural Sutures Medicine and Media Durham N C Duke University Press ISBN 0822332949 Archived from the original on 29 June 2019 Retrieved 4 June 2017 Castro Leon Enrique Harmon Robert December 22 2016 Cloud as a Service Understanding the Service Innovation Ecosystem Apress ISBN 9781484201039 Retrieved 4 June 2017 Further reading editJones Christopher R 2004 Nobody knows you re a dog In Land Ray amp Bayne Sian eds Education in Cyberspace New York Routledge 105 pages ISBN 0 415 32882 9 Nielsen Jakob 1995 Multimedia and Hypertext The Internet and Beyond San Diego AP Professional 172 pages ISBN 978 0 12 518408 3 Nakamura Lisa 2002 Cybertypes Race Ethnicity and Identity on the Internet New York Routledge 35 pages ISBN 0 415 93837 6 The New Yorker Magazine Malcolm Gladwell et al October 30 2012 The Big New Yorker Book of Dogs ISBN 9780679644767 Schneider Edgar 2003 Living the Good Life With Autism London Jessica Kingsley Publishers 44 pages ISBN 1 84310 712 0 Turkle Sherry 1997 Life on the Screen Identity in the Age of the Internet New York Simon amp Schuster 352 pages ISBN 0 68483 348 4 Portals nbsp Internet nbsp Society Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title On the Internet nobody knows you 27re a dog amp oldid 1208447140, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
