When Theodore Vail became President of AT&T at the beginning of the 20th century, he created a monopoly by buying up as many smaller telephone companies as he could, eventually becoming powerful enough to complete his vision of “One Policy, One System, Universal Service.”
ABC and NBC dominated radio broadcasting and then moved to television where a single episode of I Love Lucy could attract 70% of households in America.
The Internet is totally different. It isn’t owned by anyone. Can you even name who invented it? (I couldn’t.)
In the world of disruptive technologies, the internet is the first medium where the means of production are not controlled by one single person or one single organization.
It is chaotic, noisy, decentralized and it is also a tool for innovation, connection and creation. You can use it to share whatever you want with anyone. And, most importantly, it is free to do as you wish.
It is how the internet has always thrived, but will it stay that way? Do you want Internet Service Providers to have the power to regulate, discriminate and charge users for access? Can we trust someone to have this much power?
These are important questions going forward. One worth paying attention to and examining further.
Josh Allred's Blog 