Part 2 script


     SERIES PRODUCERS: NINA ZACUTO AND ALAN KAUL
     THIS SEGMENT : NINA ZACUTO
                                        ANCHOR:  BRIAN WILLIAMS

                                   PART TWO NOW IN OUR SERIES THIS
                                   WEEK: "ALMOST 2001."  NOT TOO LONG
                                   AGO, TELEPHONES AND TELEGRAPHS WERE
                                   CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY. THESE
                                   DAYS, THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME:
                                   CAN BE SEEN ON COMPUTER SCREENS -
                                   MILLIONS OF THEM, WHERE NEW KINDS
                                   OF COMMUNITIES ARE BEING BORN.
                                   NBC'S GEORGE LEWIS REPORTS.


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                                        NARRATION: GEORGE LEWIS

     CATALFO'S PLAYING PING PONG   (NARR)  THE CATALFOS OF BERKELEY,
                                   CALIFORNIA, FACED A MAJOR CRISIS THREE
                                   YEARS AGO.

     PHIL C. TYPING AT COMPUTER    (V.O. PHIL)  "I'd like to use this
                                   topic for discussing leukemia, the
                                   disease....

     COMPUTER SCREEN               both as it affects my family and what
                                   is known about it generally."


     GABE PLAYS PING-PONG          GABE CATALFO, THEN SEVEN, WAS DIAGONSED
                                   WITH LEUKEMIA.

     PHIL LOOKS ON                 HIS FATHER, PHIL, FRIGHTENED AND
                                   LOOKING FOR ADVICE, DECIDED TO SHARE
                                   HIS FEELINGS WITH SOME PEOPLE HE'D BEEN
     PHIL TYPING AT COMPUTER       CORRESPONDING WITH OVER A COMPUTER
                                   NETWORK.  SOME HE KNEW, MOST HE HAD
                                   NEVER MET.

     PHIL ON CAMERA                (SOT)  "These people gave me a way to
                                   carry on.//And they also gave me, you
                                   know, very specific pieces of advice to
                                   help me deal with it in a very concrete
                                   way."

     GABE AGAIN                    (NARR)  WITHIN A FEW WEEKS DOCTORS HAD
                                   GABE'S LEUKEMIA IN REMISSSION.  HE'S IN
                                   GOOD HEALTH NOW, BUT THE SHOW OF
                                   SUPPORT FROM HIS FAN CLUB CONTINUES.
                                   MORE THAN ELEVEN HUNDRED ELECTRONIC
                                   MESSAGES POSTED SO FAR.

     WELL OFFICES                  PHIL IS A SUBSCRIBER TO THE WELL - A
     PULLBACK FROM SIGN            COMPUTER CONFERENCING SYSTEM STARTED IN
                                   1985.

     LEWIS AND MATISSE AT          THE 8000 SUBSCRIBERS NOW ON THE WELL
      COMPUTER SCREEN              HAVE FORMED A COMMUNITY OF THEIR OWN.
      WELL CONFERENCE ON SCREEN    IN WHAT THEY CALL CONFERENCES THEY POST
                                   MESSAGES ON OVER 225 TOPICS.

     HOWARD RHEINGOLD              (SOT)  "I think we're moving into an
     AUTHOR "VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES"  era where these computer communications
                                   can connect us with people across all
                                   kinds of boundaries in ways that we
                                   were not able to connect before."

     GRAPHIC:                      (NARR)  CONNECTING PEOPLE IN NEW WAYS
                                   HAS BECOME A MAJOR BUSINESS IN THIS
     SUPER PRODIGY: 2,000,000      COUNTRY.  COMMERCIAL SERVICES LIKE
     COMPUSERVE:    1,500,000      PRODIGY, COMPUSERVE AND AMERICA ONLINE
     AMERICA ONLINE   500,000      WHICH PUMP INFORMATION INTO PEOPLE'S
                                   COMPUTERS THROUGH REGULAR PHONE LINES,
                                   NOW HAVE FOUR MILLION SUBSCRIBERS.

     AMERICA ONLINE HDQTERS        THE FASTEST GROWING OF THESE SERVICES,
     MAINFROME COMPUTER            AMERICA ON-LINE, CHARGES NINE NINETY-
                                   FIVE A MONTH, PLUS THREE DOLLARS FIFTY
                                   CENTS AN HOUR AFTER THE FIRST FIVE
                                   HOURS USE.

     STEVE CASE IN HIS OFFICE      STEVE CASE IS THE PRESIDENT OF AMERICA
                                   ON-LINE.

     LEWIS AT COMPUTER             I INTERVIEWED HIM VIA COMPUTER FROM THE
                                   NBC BUREAU IN LOS ANGELES...

     CASE AT COMPUTER              AND HE RESPONDED FROM THE AMERICA
                                   ON-LINE OFFICE IN VIENNA, VIRGINIA.

     CASE SPEAKS                   (SOT)  "George asks...what are the most
                                   popular America Online features now?"

     GEORGE SPEAKS                 (SOT)  "And Steve responds...the real
                                   focus for us is on promoting
                                   interactivity...getting people to
                                   exchange ideas."

     STEVE TYPES                   (STEVE V.O.)  "It makes this medium
                                   more interactive, more participatory...
                                   it comes alive."

     CLIFF FIGALLO AT HIS COMPUTER (NARR)  BUT COMPUTER USERS CONCEDE THAT
                                   CORRESPONDING ELECTRONICALLY IS NO
                                   SUBSTITUTE FOR FACE-TO-FACE
                                   COMMUNICATIONS.  THAT'S WHY THE SAN
     GOLDEN GATE POSTCARD SHOT     FRANCISCO-BASED WELL HAS MONTHLY
                                   GATHERINGS WHERE MEMBERS GET TOGETHER
     WELL PARTY WITH BUCKBERG      TO SHARE THEIR INTERESTS AND THE IDEAS
                                   THEY HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING VIA COMPUTER.

     BUCKBERG AT THE DOCK          RICHARD BUCKBERG IS A WILDLIFE
                                   BIOLOGIST.  ONE OF HIS HOBBIES IS
                                   BOATING SO HE SPENDS TIME ON THE WELL'S
                                   BOATING CONFERENCE.

     BUCKBERG SPEAKS               "We talk about issues relating to the
                                    bay itself.  Dredging, the cost of
                                    boating in the bay..."

     BYRON WATCHES JIMI ON VHS     (NARR)  BYRON GORDON IS A JIMI HENDRIX
                                   FAN.  HE LIKES TO SWAP AUDIO AND VIDEO
                                   TAPES WITH MEMBERS OF THE WELL'S MUSIC
                                   CONFERENCE.

     BYRON SPEAKS                  "You can't get more immediate than the
                                   exchange of computer information via a
                                   bulletin board.

     COFFEEHOUSE/ COIN-OPERATED    WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD A
     COMPUTER TERMINAL             COMPUTER AT HOME?  IT'S OKAY.  IF YOU
                                   HAVE SOME SPARE CHANGE.

                                   (NAT SOT) "another quarter."

     NATASHA PUTS THE QUARTER      COIN-OPERATED COMPUTER TERMINALS HAVE
       IN COIN SLOT                STARTED POPPING UP IN PUBLIC PLACES
                                   LIKE THIS SAN FRANCISCO COFFEE HOUSE.
                                   USERS SEND ELECTRONIC MAIL ALL OVER THE
                                   GLOBE.  COST..TWO BITS FOR FOUR MINUTES.
                                   LETTERS MOVING AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT.
                                   AN INSTANT CONNECTION TO THE WHOLE WIDE
                                   WORLD.  GEORGE LEWIS, NBC NEWS, SAN
                                   FRANCISCO.

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                                        ANCHOR: BRIAN WILLIAMS

                                   LAST NIGHT WE BROADCAST OUR INTERNET
                                   ADDRESS.. AND WE'VE ALREADY RECEIVED
                                   MORE THAN FIFTEEN HUNDRED COMMENTS FROM
                                   VIEWERS ACROSS THE U-S AND AROUND THE
                                   WORLD. HERE'S A SAMPLING:

                                   CARLOS CHAVEZ WRITES:  "I GUESS THIS IS
                                   THE BEST EXAMPLE OF YOUR PIECE.  HOW
                                   ELSE CAN SOMEONE GET IN TOUCH SO QUICKLY
                                   FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.  SALUDOS
                                   FROM MEXICO CITY, MEXICO."