Can the Internet continue as “small pieces loosely joined”?
The openness of the Internet has been a recurring theme during the last months.
- FCC rulemaking process on network neutrality [PDF]
- Apple´s AppStore policy on applications such as Google Voice and political satire
- The openness and standardization of mobile platforms
Most of these issues are raised in Tim O’Reilly readable blog entry on “The War for the Web”. (and the title of this blog post is found somewhere in his post).
The future of the Internet – or its ability to sustain the generative aspects – is dependent upon interplay between technological, business and policy development. Personally, I like Abramson (2005) short description of how these domains interact:
Technology constrains what we can do, legal rules change the alternatives’ relative cost, and economic incentives indicate which alternatives we are likely to choose (Abramson, 2005, Digital Phoenix, MIT Press)
So, what will 2010 bring? I expect that the “openness” of the Internet will still be a recurring theme. My predictions are that
- Net neutrality will not become a major issue. Proposed regulations are aligned with access providers’ incentives
- Compatibility and interworking between different Web 2.0/Internet companies will be the major issue
Maybe I should just reread Information Rules and Finding of the Facts in the U.S. Microsoft case to prepare 2010?
