Other Internet

Internet Histories

Publishes research into the history of the internet, from early computer networks, Usenet, mobile technology and the internet of things.

My journey to the heart of the forgotten internet

Slowly but surely, huge swaths of the internet are vanishing. But the artefacts of the early web are still out there, and they have lessons for the future.

The Extended Internet Universe

The Internet is now a very complicated place

The Extended Internet Universe

The Internet is now a very complicated place

Announcing Aster - a home for researchers on the open web - Aster Blog

In 1989, the internet was invented to help researchers at CERN more easily share ideas and communicate. The incredible growth of the internet that came after…

Announcing Aster - a home for researchers on the open web - Aster Blog

In 1989, the internet was invented to help researchers at CERN more easily share ideas and communicate. The incredible growth of the internet that came after…

The Public Interest Internet

What if the internet were public interest technology? Is that too wildly speculative? I think not. I am not talking about a utopian project here — a public interest internet would be a glorious imperfect mess and it would be far from problem-free. But while there is a lot of solid thinking about various digital issues or pieces of internet infrastructure (much of which I rely upon here), I have yet to read to an answer to this question: What global digital architecture should we assemble if we take seriously the idea that the internet should be public interest technology?

Welcome to the Post-Naive Internet Era

The grand idealism of the free and open internet might be over for now, but in its place falls a more practical mindset. Just like Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurs are entering their “Hard Tech” era, the people building web alternatives are also entering their Post-Naive Era. Here are the names to know.

Beyond APIs: Collecting Web Data for Research using the National Internet Observatory

Widespread Internet use offers unprecedented opportunities to study human behavior at scale, yet researchers face significant ethical and technical barriers when attempting to collect data for academic studies.

| Association of Internet Researchers

The 27th annual meeting of the Association of Internet Researchers will be in Mexico City, Mexico14-17 October 2026

Part I: The Next Great Online Community

There’s a lack of innovation in community software. Let's dive into internet history, and get inspired!

AI Might Be Our Best Shot At Taking Back The Open Web

I remember, pretty clearly, my excitement over the early World Wide Web. I had been on the internet for a year or two at that point, mostly using IRC, Usenet, and Gopher (along with email, naturall…

[39c3] Auf die Dauer hilft nur Power: Herausforderungen für dezentrale Netzwerke aus Sicht der Soziologie

Die Soziologie hat immer etwas mitzuteilen, sobald Fragen kollektiven Handelns auftreten. Dies gilt sowohl für soziale wie auch digitale Räume. So hat der Soziologe Peter Kollock bereits in den 1990er Jahren festgestellt, „the Internet is filled w...