24 Hours in Cyberspace

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The front cover of the 24 Hours in Cyberspace book

24 Hours in Cyberspace was an online photography project that took place on February 8, 1996, headed by photographer Rick Smolan. It was billed as the "largest collaborative Internet event ever", involving thousands of photographers from all over the world, including 100 of the world's top photojournalists. ^[1] The goal was not to show pictures of websites and computer monitors, but rather images of people whose lives were affected by the use of the growing Internet. Photographs were sent digitally to editors working real-time to choose the best pictures to put on the project's website, then located at cyber24.com. The website received more than 4 million hits in the 24 hours that the project was active. ^[2]

The project culminated in the publication of a hardcover book in October 1996. The book contained two hundred photographs chosen from over 200,000 that were taken. ^[3]

Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab accused Smolan of taking the idea from their own "Day in the Life of Cyberspace" for which they had hired him to do a similar single-day photo essay in October 1995. He pulled out of MIT's project in August of that year and immediately began plans for 24 Hours in Cyberspace. The Media Lab's project took its name from Smolan's own famous series of "Day in the Life.." books. ^[4]

Smolan and the making of 24 Hours were featured on ABC's Nightline and appeared as a cover story on US News & World Report. A photographic exhibition was unveiled at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History in January 1997, by Vice President Al Gore. ^[5]

The project reportedly cost as much as $5 million, and was funded with assistance from 50 companies, mostly in the form of loans of computer hardware and technology experts. Adobe Systems, Sun Microsystems and Kodak were listed as major supporters. ^[2]