The Future of the Internet--And How to Stop It

by Jonathan Zittrain

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Showing 1-5 of 8 (next | show all)

On the one hand, this is mistitled. I kept waiting for the big explanation of how to stop the potentially bad future of the Internet, and the author never really delivered on that. It should have been called something like The Power of Generativity, and Why It's Worth Preserving, but that probably wouldn't have sold as many copies.

That said, it's a good book that sets out a fair amount of historical perspective in illuminating contemporary issues, and it's worth a read. Just don't expect it to live up to the title. (

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Shmuel510 | Jul 22, 2011 |

So good it inspired me to start a blog:

http://openattitude.com/2010/01/02/the-book-that-inspired-this-blog/ (

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acurrie | Feb 23, 2010 |

Cogent and meticulously documented analysis of the conflict between devices and networks that are "generative" (open and unrestricted) and those that are "locked down" ("tethered", "appliancized") to foil spam, malware, privacy invasion, etc. Zittrain sees the Wikipedia phenomenon as offering hints as to how to preserve generativity while containing its pitfalls. (Book freely retrievable from www.futureoftheinternet.org/download)

fpagan | Feb 5, 2009 |

Zittrain differentiates tethered devices (like the BlackBerry charging on my desk) from generative devices (like the laptop on which I write these words). Argues that much of the innovation that led to the features of the Internet that we enjoy (and that makes it so useful is threatened by the centralization that we see happening (see Nicholas Carr). (

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gackerman | Oct 6, 2008 |

Zittrain's book adresses the issue of how to maintain the cooperative, free, uncontrolled internet in an era where it ihas become very profitable to attack it with viruses, bots, spam and all the many things we look on as annoyances but which hav ehte capacity to force people into accepting tethered devices such as iphones and blackberries. Such a step will kill the innovation and creativity that engendered it from the beginnning by giving it over corporations and other interests. These interests will offer tightly controlled and unalterable interent experiences while preventing the "amateur tinkering which created most of the things we like. (

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maunder | Aug 1, 2008 |

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The book is a cracking read -- smart and engaging as Zittrain himself is in person and at the podium -- and while I didn't agree with everything in it, it got me thinking about 200 miles a minute, and that's always a good thing.

added by lampbane | editBoing Boing, Cory Doctorow (Jul 23, 2008)

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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0300124872, Hardcover)

This extraordinary book explains the engine that has catapulted the Internet from backwater to ubiquityand reveals that it is sputtering precisely because of its runaway success. With the unwitting help of its users, the generative Internet is on a path to a lockdown, ending its cycle of innovationand facilitating unsettling new kinds of control.

IPods, iPhones, Xboxes, and TiVos represent the first wave of Internet-centered products that can’t be easily modified by anyone except their vendors or selected partners. These tethered appliances” have already been used in remarkable but little-known ways: car GPS systems have been reconfigured at the demand of law enforcement to eavesdrop on the occupants at all times, and digital video recorders have been ordered to self-destruct thanks to a lawsuit against the manufacturer thousands of miles away. New Web 2.0 platforms like Google mash-ups and Facebook are rightly toutedbut their applications can be similarly monitored and eliminated from a central source. As tethered appliances and applications eclipse the PC, the very nature of the Internetits generativity,” or innovative characteris at risk.

The Internet’s current trajectory is one of lost opportunity. Its salvation, Zittrain argues, lies in the hands of its millions of users. Drawing on generative technologies like Wikipedia that have so far survived their own successes, this book shows how to develop new technologies and social structures that allow users to work creatively and collaboratively, participate in solutions, and become true netizens.”

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:40:30 -0500)

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"This extraordinary book explains the engine that has catapulted the Internet from backwater to ubiquity - and reveals that it is in danger precisely because of its runaway success. With the unwitting help of its users, the Internet and PC are on a path to a lockdown, ending their cycles of innovation - and facilitating unsettling new kinds of control." "iPods, iPhones, Xboxes, and TiVos represent the first wave of Internet-centered products that can't be easily modified by anyone except their vendors or selected partners. These "tethered appliances" have already been used in remarkable but little known ways: car GPS systems have been reconfigured at the demand of law enforcement to eavesdrop on the occupants at all times, and digital video recorders have been ordered to self-destruct thanks to a lawsuit against the manufacturer thousands of miles away. New Web 2.0 platforms like Google mash-ups and Facebook are rightly touted - but their applications can be similarly monitored and eliminated from a central source. As tethered appliances and applications eclipse the PC, the nature of the Internet - its "generativity" that permits anyone, anywhere to build on it - is at risk." "The Internet's current trajectory is one of lost opportunity. Its salvation, Zittrain argues, lies in the goodwill of its millions of users. Drawing on generative technologies like Wikipedia that have so far survived their own successes, Zittrain shows how to develop new technologies and social structures that allow users to work creatively and collaboratively while avoiding the excesses and abuses of openness - and to preserve the promise of the Net."--BOOK JACKET.… (more)

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