> The mystery to me is why this group of early web pioneers thought it could be any different.
It's obvious now that bringing the world to the net would make the net a lot more like the world, but you see, those of us who came up in the pre-Canter & Siegel days had actually hoped that it would make the world more like the (in the before times) net.
I know, my statement there is harsh. The early tech culture emerged from 60s counter cultural forces that had, to their credit, really impacted the world. So it probably wasn't as naive as it seems now.
It's obvious now that bringing the world to the net would make the net a lot more like the world, but you see, those of us who came up in the pre-Canter & Siegel days had actually hoped that it would make the world more like the (in the before times) net.