Episode 246: Tom Wheeler
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Network Revolutions: Old and New
The evolution of Networks has been characterized by periodic technological revolutions that result in accelerated dispersion of information and new ideas. By examining these moments and the conditions that caused them we can learn new things about the nature of networks.
Tom Wheeler is a visiting fellow at the Brookings Center and also an author. He has an upcoming book called Techlash: Who Makes the Rules in the New Gilded age. His previous book is called From Gutenberg to Google: The History of Our Future, and he is also the author of Mr. Lincoln's T-Mails: The Untold Story of How Abraham Lincoln Used the Telegraph to Win the Civil War. Tom is also the former FCC Chairman appointed by President Barack Obama.
Tom and Greg discuss what constitutes a network, and what Tom would surprisingly classify as the first high-speed network. Tom relays the history of telegraphy, and the debt the telegraph owes to the printing press. Tom explains where some companies made huge blunders, passing on the chance to control important networks and the nefarious ways in which some ‘inventors’ actually came to be remembered for the inventions of others.
Episode Quotes:
What can we learn from the previous revolutions?
50:04: Napoleon used to tell his generals: “Study the campaigns of the past.” It wasn't so that you will do the same thing. It was that, so you internalize those experiences. So when your leadership moment comes, you can say, "Aha, I've got an approach," and I think that's what's lacking right now in our discussion of what has been created by this third network revolution.
51:54: What fascinates me about military history is the leadership moment. When you have a clear-cut decision, you have clear-cut winners and losers, and it happens in the public eye, so you can learn from it.
How can regulators stay ahead and maintain environments that allow continuous disruptions?
43:53: Regulators need to get their heads out of the cockpit. And the trap that you fall into that is easy to fall into is to rely on the incumbents and those that they fund, because the current technique is that the incumbents fund "independent groups" to keep feeding information into the regulators, the public media, and Congress. And you've got to get your head out of the cockpit and have an understanding of what's going on, or at least be seeking what's going on.
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