Is Anything New?

I had just finished reading "The Victorian Internet" by Tom Standage (thank you again Dr. James Bellini) which is a fascinating and very well written history of the telegraph system. You might think this is just a book for nerds and engineers but not so, it is a real insight into the social impact of a revolutionary new technology. There are so many parallels with our recent experiences with the Internet that you really wonder why we never made the connection before. Perhaps you did, I had to read the book first!

Apart from the stories of social networking, worries about privacy, dating, power-users and the rest, the most intriguing part came right at the end - exactly. Where will it end? The telegraph had two ends, firstly when the teleprinter made it possible for typists to use the network without the need for a telegraph office, and secondly the technical evolution of the telegraph network into a voice network with exchange hubs, replacing Morse code with telephones. So what will happen to our Internet? My personal view is that when we rid ourselves of the restriction of 40 foot mobile network masts and have 100% mobile coverage, we will see that evolution happen again - fixed networks and PCs will give way to fully mobile, personal devices and infinite connectivity.




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