At the Verizon Policyblog, Link Hoewing offers some interesting thoughts about Jonathan Zittrain's book, "The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It. Hoewing writes...
The point of Jonathan's book seems to be that for a variety of reasons [viruses, Spam, identify theft, etc], we may soon see the end of the "generative" Internet, the "open" Net and the emergence of an Internet that mostly consists of tethered devices or "single purpose" appliances and closed networks. ... He clearly believes the future of the Internet is moving more and more towards that "appliancized" model and away from the "generative" one in part because people feel threatened by dangerous applications or malware.
I guess I see that both models will thrive because they serve different purposes and because there are forces that drive the Internet today that simply encourage evolution and choice, while preserving the essential cooperative essence of the Internet that keep it running.
For one thing, the concept of "generativity" seems to revolve only around the notion of new applications, software or content techniques. Innovation need not be limited simply to a new application or software program in my view however. Why isn't a new "applicance" focused on a specific need for a consumer just as much an example of "generativity" as a new program or application?
This is especially so when you look at how consumers use the Internet today. Consumers see value in both models depending on what they are trying to do. ... [T]he ultimate innovation is something that meets a consumer need in a better way. Why shouldn't consumers have these sorts of choices and why does this threaten the Internet? After all, the Internet only has merit if it meets consumer needs and demands.
Leave a comment