Blog Post #2:The History of the Internet...As We Know It

I love my podcasts. I’m a news junkie, and I love being able to listen to something whenever I want, wherever I want. But I’ll save the many wonders of podcasting for another post. The week after our first weekend of class, in which we discussed the history of the internet in about 10 minutes (it seems like it happened that quickly in real time, doesn’t it?) – I found delivered via my podcast subscription the weekly NOW program. And what, do you think, was the topic of their broadcast? That’s right – the Internet! How timely, I thought – as if they created the program just for me. Did they know I had my first blog post to write?

The program is specifically entitled “The Tangled Web” (they have a great webpage with a complete transcript of the program, additional resources and data, etc – you can even watch the video of the program itself). Here’s a snippet from the summary of the show:

"Is the wild west culture of the Internet about to become a thing of the past? Big business is staking its claim on the information superhighway, lobbying Congress for an exclusive faster lane, which consumers could end up paying for. This week on NOW we look at a major battle brewing in Washington D.C. over the future of the Internet.”

Here’s the short version. The massive telephone and cable companies are lobbying Washington to support proposed legislation that will allow them to create what some call a “two-tiered Internet.” Web based companies that are willing and able to pay higher fees will receive better and faster access and service, leaving start-ups and the DIY webmasters in the dust. And I can’t help but wonder, where do libraries fit in this picture? As outlined in the program, on one side you have the telecom industry, with their deceptive “Hands off the Internet” campaign, who argue that they should have the say on who gets what, and at what price, and that the government should stay out of it. On the other side, there are those who are calling for “net neutrality” – emphasizing that the very democratic and non-hierarchical nature of the web is what made it the successful and widespread communication medium that it is today. On this side you have Google, Yahoo, the start-ups like YouTube, and who else but the inventor of the Web, which truly made the internet accessible to all: Tim Berners-Lee. According to a recent New York Times editorial (available behind a subscription wall) “Why the Democratic Ethic of the World Wide Web May be About to End” (by Adam Cohen, May 28, 2006) the quiet Berners-Lee is speaking up about what he fears might be the end to the internet as we know it.

Several thoughts run through my head as I consider all this information - the history of the Internet we read for class, the NOW program, the NY Times articles. The acronyms and protocols and regulating bodies don’t really mean much to me - just alphabet soup really. I realize that it took a lot of really smart folks to get the internet functioning as it does today. But it is more than that, and as we look toward its uncertain future, we realize that its very essence - what has made it unlike any other communication medium in history - is in jeopardy. Any Craig can go out there and put together a nifty list. What will happen to the next Flickr or MySpace? Would they have had the same chance to make it if they didn’t have access to the same internet as Yahoo and Google?

Of course, the legislation in question is bundled within a huge telecommunications bill, but the main issue for that those who are pushing for “net neutrality” is that it doesn’t contain any provisions that will prevent the telecom companies from initiating this tiered pricing system. The bill passed in the House in early June, and is next due to reach the Senate. This is something we need to keep an eye on. Let your Representatives and Senators know where you stand.