Friedman. 2005. The Wealth and Poverty of Networks. (original) (raw)

2005, At A Distance: Precursors to Internet Art and Activism

There is no question that networks have become a central focus and conceptual metaphor of activity in the late twentieth century. The interesting question is why this is so, and why it has happened now. In many senses, networks have become typical, even emblematic, of many kinds of processes in the world. These processes are often hailed as a step toward democracy, equality of opportunity, access to resources, and appropriate governance of the world’s resources. All of these characterizations are reasonable. Nevertheless, networks offer no simple solutions to the world’s problems. In the course of solving some problems, networks introduce challenges and problems of their own. The network society is an overlay wrapped around different kinds of societies and cultures, linking them and connecting them. The network society reshapes older societies, sometimes destroying them.