From Anarchy to Power: The Net Comes of Age

Description

Companion website: http://www.nyupress.org/fap Yesterday's battles over internet turf were fought on the net itself: today's battles are fought in government committees, in Congress, on the stock exchange, and in the marketplace. What was once an experimental ground for electronic commerce is now the hottest part of our economic infrastructure. In From Anarchy to Power, Wendy Grossman explores the new dispensation on the net and tackles the questions that trouble every online user: How vulnerable are the internet and world wide web to malicious cyber hackers? What are the limits of privacy online? How real is internet addiction and to what extent is the news media responsible for this phenomenon? Are women and minorities at a disadvantage in cyberspace? How is the increasing power of big business changing internet culture? We learn about the political economy of the internet including issues of copyright law, corporate control and cryptography legislation. Throughout the book the emphasis is on the international dimensions of the net, focusing on privacy and censorship in the United States, Europe and Canada and the hitherto ignored contributions of other countries in the development of the net. Entertaining and informative From Anarchy to Power is required reading for anyone who wants to know where the new digital economy is heading. Copyright Contents Introduction 1 The Internet Gets the Bomb 2 Selling Community 3 Who Owns the Net? 4 The Heart of the Net 5 A Thousand Points of Failure 6 The Empire Strikes Back 7 Free Speech, Not Free Beer 8 The Innocent Pleasure of Reading 9 The Future of Public Information 10 Falling into the Gap 11 Divide by Zero 12 The Haunted Goldfish Bowl 13 Twenty-first Century Snow Acknowledgments Notes Selected Bibliography Index