Contributed Stories

Today is the 4th anniversary of the World IPv6 Day, which most of us remember as a test drive that facilitated the “launching” of IPv6 a year later.   Two fortunate felines in the UK may remember it as the day it rained cat food — the day they were fed 168 times. The full details ...

Written by:  Doc Searls and David Weinberger Hear, O Internet. It has been sixteen years since our previous communication. In that time the People of the Internet — you and me and all our friends of friends of friends, unto the last Kevin Bacon — have made the Internet an awesome place, filled with wonders and portents. From the ...

Contributed by Andy Newton It is said that the original purpose of the Internet was for military purposes; to reduce the number of green-screen terminals proliferating in the offices of DoD administrators or to allow researches to exchange data regarding nuclear warhead testing or to link radar installations. Whatever those intents, the men-at-arms who wanted this ...

  Contributed by Konstantinos Komaitis “Firsts” are important – our first steps, our first kiss, our first job. For me, so was the first time I got online. It was 1998 and I was in Germany, where I would be spending 6 months as part of an exchange university program. The excitement and anticipation of studying abroad was ...

Contributed by:  Dan York This morning our five-year old daughter was holding a jar of “sparkles” that my wife had purchased for the upcoming Halloween festivities. She asked “How do they make sparkles, Daddy?” I said I didn’t know and before I could say anything else she said: “I know… we can go learn about how they make ...

Contributed by:  Phil Roberts Who could have imagined a network and a set of technologies that would bring us so close together? Music is one of many pursuits that seems to bring together people across language barriers, across cultural barriers, across insurmountable divides. Recently I came across some references to the St Petersburg Philharmonia, the oldest ...

After a lot of positive feedback and enthusiasm for the launch of the InternetImpossible site,  there have been questions.  It’s new, it’s neat, it’s… what did you want from me, exactly?  So — I’ve posted a set of content contribution guidelines, formed as a list of “frequently asked questions”.   The page is here. My first choice ...

Contributed by:  Jonathan Zittrain The Internet’s framers made simplicity a core value­ — a risky bet with a high payoff. The bet was risky because a design whose main focus is simplicity may omit elaboration that solves certain foreseeable problems. The simple design that the Internet’s framers settled upon makes sense only with a set of ...

Herewith — the InternetImpossible project.  The purpose of the project is to capture, share, and raise awareness of  the many and varied wonders of the Internet. This ranges from its technology to its reach and its impact. Impact is noted on people, on cultures, on ways of doing things. http://www.internetimpossible.org Stay tuned, or, better yet, contribute!    Send ...