The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google

Nicholas Carr is the Harvard professor who wrote the "Does IT Matter?" article in the Harvard Business Review a few years ago (and who consequently got a bunch of people agitated). In the Big Switch, he looks at the evolving structure of the internet and sees parallels with how the electrical grid evolved over the last century. He rolls the story forward and like Jonathan Zittrain in "The Future of the Internet and How To Stop It" he finds some things to worry about. They are big things.

What are the implications when in the name of convenience, simplicity, personalization, and good service your every click is understood by Google (or whomever)? What are the human implications of Google knowing (or being able to infer) lots about lots, and lots about you - all without your knowledge? What are the implications that the device on your belt or on your desk is not fully in your control? Here's a couple real world teasers that the tech savvy among you will spot as technologically trivial: Did you know that your PC camera and microphone can be turned on without your knowledge? Same for cell phones ... even when they are powered off. Same for "OnStar in your car").

This book and others begin an interesting debate about the boundary between the internet and you. If the internet becomes the world's "brain" what does that mean? And if this does comes to pass, what is your future as an autonomous individual? This is a big question. It's not yet answered (and only marginally posed). But it does get me thinking about those old Star Trek scenes about "assimilation by the borg". Before the borg got all pushy about joining the club, did they actually have a sales pitch? Would it be familiar to what we hear today? Just wondering ...

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RFIY656SRH4RU What does electricity and computing have to do with each other, besides the fact you need electricity to make your computer work? In "The Big Switch" you are taken on a fascinating journey to show how computing is following much the same path as elecricity did when it was first rolled out to the masses. Whereas there was a time when electricity was generated on-site where it was needed, the same can be said of computing power today -- we have our own IT departments and computer installations. In the future the author argues much of this will be moved to the "cloud" where our ideas of how we use computers will change radically. In this video I walk you through some of the concepts of cloud computing and introduce you more to this fascinating book that is sure to have IT-geeks and non-geeks alike reading to find out what lies ahead for us in the not too distant future.

In the 1990's the internet was heralded as a transformative medium that would level society and provide free information. Now after the "dot-com bust", we are seeing a different perspective. Carr describes how the internet is indeed having profound effects, and some of them may not be as benign as we anticipated:

* professionalization dwindling in the wake of internet amateurs/volunteers doing the work.

* "unbundling" of services and media - so that we only look at what's most attractive and ignore other things (which may be actually more important)

* IT departments disappearing as everyone accesses computing services as a generic "utility" provided by an outside vendor.

* our every action on the net is tracked/recorded/compiled, whether we think we are "anonymous" or not, and this info is of intense interest to industry and government.

* cyberspace isn't as immune to censorship and government control as we thought.

Carr's thesis is that "computing" will increasingly be done by outside vendors whom we all will access/interface with. He likens it to the growing acceptance and ubiquity of public electrification as a "utility" that replaced in-house power/lighting sources (generators, gaslight, etc.)

However, I didn't completely agree with his analogy. The big difference between electricity and computing is that computing involves information, which is infinitely more valuable. If someone taps into my electrical power, my lights might brown out. But if someone taps into my data, it could be disastrous and irremediable. For this reason, I have doubts as to whether business, governments and individuals will be quite so willing to rely so heavily on an outside vendor for their computing and critical infrastructure. It's one thing if you're running a business like a photoshop utility or blog. It's quite another when you're handling sensitive financial information or public safety systems which cannot be allowed to fail or be compromised.

However, the book does provide rich food for thought and so I recommend it. I just caution that in the 1990's there was a lot of hubris associated with the "power" of the internet. In this book, it seems like some of the hubris has just assumed a different form and should still be taken with a grain of salt.

Nice discussion/analogy of the history of electric power generation and the future of computers. Not sure if we'll get to where the author claims, but the trend is there.

Maybe it's time to sell Microsoft stock?

The Big Switch started out as one of the most interesting books I've read in a while. In part one Carr presents a terrific analogy between electricity and the Internet as general purpose technologies. Unfortunately part two is just as dull as part one is compelling. Part one succeeds in my view because it's an effective historical analogy rich in comparisons and historical insight. In part two Carr highlights the many of the issues raised by the development of Internet as a utility (i.e., loss of privacy). I think what's missing is the lack of solutions or unique insight. The first six chapters are stellar; I'd skim the rest.