Digging in the Cache is a series where we go back in time to look at fun tidbits of Internet and computer history. How do you explain the Internet to someone who has never used it? What if that person was also in charge of regulating it? Well, you might think about the Internet as a series of tubes… as did Senator Ted Stevens. A series of tubes probably isn’t too much off the mark, but from Senator Steven’s remarks, you can tell that he clearly doesn’t understand the Internet. And if you’re trying to regulate something you clearly don’t understand, it’s probably going to lead to some ridicule.
“Series of tubes” was originally used in 2006 as an analogy by Senator Ted Stevens (from Alaska) to describe the Internet in a speech opposing network neutrality. Here’s the partial text from Steven’s remarks (courtesy of Wikipedia):
Ten movies streaming across that, that Internet, and what happens to your own personal Internet? I just the other day got… an Internet was sent by my staff at 10 o’clock in the morning on Friday. I got it yesterday [Tuesday]. Why? Because it got tangled up with all these things going on the Internet commercially.
[…] They want to deliver vast amounts of information over the Internet. And again, the Internet is not something that you just dump something on. It’s not a big truck. It’s a series of tubes. And if you don’t understand, those tubes can be filled and if they are filled, when you put your message in, it gets in line and it’s going to be delayed by anyone that puts into that tube enormous amounts of material, enormous amounts of material.
While the series of tubes analogy isn’t too far off the mark, Stevens mixed analogies with trucks and called an email an Internet. He also talks about an Internet and a personal Internet and tries to compare the Internet to delivery services like Fedex. Just take a listen:
This lead to ridicule from supporters of net neutrality who could point to Stevens as being old and out of touch. For example:
“Series of tubes” was also ridiculed on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and has been used in numerous satires and jokes.
So how would you explain the Internet to someone who doesn’t use it?
(photo by o palsson, on Flickr)