What is the Internet Anyways?

Women as ‘Computers’ Pre-Machine Era
- Engaged in complex mathematics by hand.
- Integral role in powering the space race.
- Viewed as cheap labor and low-status activity.
Scientific and Technological Progress
- Development of machines to perform computing tasks has long been a goal.

World War II Impact
- Development of computing technologies accelerated due to cryptography needs.
- First computers were large enough to occupy entire rooms.
Breakthrough in 1951
- Introduction of the Ferranti Mark I in Britain as the first general-purpose usable computer.
Interrelation of Computers and Internet
- Technology development was influenced by similar social contexts for both computers and the internet.

Cold War Context
- Standoff between the Soviet Union and the US characterized by nuclear capabilities.
- Unlike a ‘hot war,’ it lacked clear conflict zones.
Concept of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)
- Idea established that fear of retaliation would deter either side from initiating an attack.

Arms Race Dynamics
- Both superpowers engaged in an arms race, enhancing military technology.
- Aimed to reduce missile launch times from eight hours to just minutes (Ryan, 2010).
Concerns in Command and Control Systems
- Issues arose regarding communication in the event of a nuclear strike.
- Traditional FM radio transmissions would become non-viable; centralized telephone networks (AT&T) were vulnerable.

Proposed Solutions
- Researcher Paul Baran highlighted the need for a communication system resilient under nuclear threat.
- Conventional networks had central command points, presenting vulnerabilities.
Introduction of the Internet
- Developed a distributed network with redundancies and a neurological model eliminating central points of failure.

Teleological Model Argument
- Campbell-Kelly and Garcia-Swartz (2013) describe the ARPANET to WWW evolution as teleological—like an acorn growing into an oak.
- They assert that multiple communications developments existed alongside ARPANET and that the internet's formation was inevitable.
- Protocols like TCP/IP became dominant by chance.
Vision for the Web
- Dream presented by Tim Berners-Lee in 1998 emphasized a common information space facilitating communication through shared links.
- Stress on the universality of hyperlinks ranging from personal to global content.

1980s Commercial Internet Development
- Early commercial activities included electronic banking systems such as EFTPOS and ATMs, largely unseen by the public.
- Increased usage of personal computers required user-friendly computer interfaces for wider acceptance.
Growth of Community Services
- Shift towards community-oriented services—BBS, emails, forums.
- BBS (Bulletin Board System): Users posted messages for others, serving as early online community spaces.
Distinction Between the Internet and the Web
- The internet consists of networked computers, while the web is characterized as a visually engaging, user-friendly experience. (Campbell-Kelly and Garcia-Swartz, 2013).

Early BBS Examples
- CompuServ: By 1984, claimed 130,000 subscribers; increased to 220,000 by 1985. Provided email, forums, and online services.
- The WELL: 7,000 members in 1993, $2 million income—recognized in Howard Rheingold’s "The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier".
- AOL (America Online): Became a significant early provider with user-friendly interfaces, introducing the phrase “You’ve got mail.” Provided software via floppy disks for new users.

Rapid Growth Through the 90s
- Significant increase in online content, with earlier organizational attempts including the Gopher system by the University of Minnesota, used for cataloging files.
- WAIS: Similar to Gopher but with an indexing method based on key words.

Connectivity Development
- Protocols enabled documents to link to other documents, creating an interconnected web.
- Tim Berners-Lee credited with development of the web model.
- The MOSAIC browser introduced a point-and-click interface, enhancing user experience.
- First Popular Browser: Netscape Navigator facilitated web navigation.
- Search Engines: Yahoo! began cataloging webpages, paving the way for Google.

Platforms with Infrastructural Power
- Ownership and management of sociotechnical systems; typically centrally designed during the development phases (Plantin et al., 2018).
- Platforms exhibit cultural power by shaping user interaction and audience engagement.
Geopolitical Power of Platforms
- Platforms like TikTok wield significant geopolitical influence.
- Van Dijck, Poell, and Waal (2018) describe society as existing within a "platform society."
- Google and Facebook exercise control over information flow online (Ratner, Gvirsman, and Ben-David, 2023).
- Walled Gardens: Areas like App Stores and social media create restricted access, contrasting the original ethos of networked web.

AI Data Collection Practices
- AI companies crawl the web for data to train models, often using copyrighted content.
- Smaller websites lack capacity to manage extensive traffic from AI crawlers.
Potential Implications for the Web
- Increased information may be hidden behind access restrictions to protect from AI exploitation.
- Raises concerns regarding future accessibility of the web.

Social Forces Shaping the Internet
- Internet development shaped by specific social contexts and practices throughout history.
- Untrodden paths indicate the internet could look vastly different than the current web.
- Suggests that today’s web may not be reflective of future developments.