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What the Internet Is/Isn't

An old article got an new audience over the last couple of days thanks to a Slashdot post and a couple of other well-placed links. I first read it sometime last year; it's currently marked as last modified almost a year ago. I had forgotten about it, too, so a re-read (and now blogging about) was helpful.

The article title and deck sums it all up:

Now, you can argue with this or that point in the article, but it pretty much lays out - in broad strokes - just what it this wacky Internet thingee is all about.

If I had to sum up the contents of what the article says, it would be the following four points:

• The Internet is not a thing, it's an agreement


• The Internet is not TV (any more than TV is radio, for example)


• The Internet is intentionally stupid. This makes it fault-tolerant and does not impose or imply any specific rules beyond IP


• All value is added at the edges: I.e. the IP protocol is there; the rest is building on this tool/agreement

Sounds simple, but - in the mad, pre-2000 rush to, uh, monetize the Web (a flavor of the Internet) - a lot of companies tried to force non-Net business models onto the Web in hopes of leveraging successes they have had in other media (such as advertising or music sales).

And a lot of these efforts are continuing (MPAA, RIAA..), and - to be generous - they haven't fared so well. The companies that took advantage of the Internet for what it is (think Amazon, Symantec, Google, for example) have done well.

The article would be a good benchmark for any company of any size to use to compare against its Internet business plans.

Will it save a bad plan, guarantee success for a good plan?

Of course not.

But it's another tool to use to see if you/your company in a way that makes sense for the medium. It can help raise some red flags that can then be addressed before it's too late.