John Naughton, a professor of the public understanding of technology at the Open University, has published a brilliant overview of everything you ever need to know about the internet in the Guardian. In his essay, he goes over nine of the big ideas that are central to understanding this massive technological force:
- Take the long view
- The web isn't the net
- Disruption is a feature, not a bug
- Think ecology, not economics
- Complexity is the new reality
- The network is now the computer
- The web is changing
- Huxley and Orwell are the bookends...
- Our I.P. regime is no longer fit for purpose