Contents of ‘A History of the Internet and the Digital Future’

Contents of A History of the Internet and the Digital Future

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PHASE I: DISTRIBUTED NETWORK, CENTRIFUGAL IDEAS
Chapter 1. A CONCEPT BORN IN THE SHADOW OF THE NUKE
Chapter 2. THE MILITARY EXPERIMENT
Chapter 3. THE ESSENCE OF THE INTERNET
Chapter 4. COMPUTERS BECOME CHEAP, FAST, AND COMMON

PHASE II: EXPANSION
Chapter 5. THE HOI POLLOI CONNECT
Chapter 6. COMMUNITIES BASED ON INTEREST, NOT PROXIMITY
Chapter 7. FROM MILITARY NETWORKS TO THE GLOBAL INTERNET
Chapter 8. THE WEB!
Chapter 9. A PLATFORM FOR TRADE AND THE PITFALLS OF THE DOT COM
Chapter 10. WEB 2.0 AND THE RETURN TO THE ORAL TRADITION

PHASE III: THE EMERGING ENVIRONMENT
Chapter 11. NEW AUDIENCES, THE FOURTH WALL, AND EXTRUDED MEDIA
Chapter 12. TWO WAY POLITICS
Chapter 13. PROMISE AND PERIL

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The first section of the book (Chapters 1–4) examines the concepts and context from which the Internet emerged. The second section (Chapters 5–9) traces how the technology and culture of networking matured, freeing communities for the first time in human history from the tyranny of geography in the process. This section also describes the emergence of the Web and the folly of the dot- com boom and bust. The final section (Chapters 10–13) shows how the defining characteristics of the Internet are now transforming culture, commerce and politics.