Oral Histories of the Internet and the Web

The internet and the web are among the largest human-made technological artefacts ever created. Many facets of how these inventions came into being have been depicted in books and journal articles about the histories of the internet and the web. But the voices of those who took part in the creation and development of these technologies that have changed our culture and societies profoundly have only occasionally found a home. Oral Histories of the Internet and the Web brings together a number of interviews with people who in various ways have affected the establishing and evolution of the internet and the web, and in contrast to the historical accounts these interviews give a sense of lived and living history. The interviews were originally published in the interdisciplinary journal Internet Histories: Digital Technology, Culture and Society between 2017 and 2022.

Niels Brügger is a professor of media studies at the School of Communication and Culture, Aarhus University, Denmark. Gerard Goggin is the Wee Kim Wee Professor in the Department of Media and Communications, University of Sydney, Australia.

Oral Histories of the Internet and the Web: An Introduction Section 1: The internet 1. Tell us about... (Vinton Cerf, Steve Crocker, Abhaya Induruwa, Dennis Jennings, John Klensin, Gerard Le Lann, Paul Mockapetris and Ted Nelson) 2. Conversations with a pioneer: Paul Baran in his own words 3. Conversation with a pioneer: Leonard Kleinrock on the early days of networking, the ARPANET...and winning in Las Vegas 4. Conversation with a pioneer: Larry Roberts on how he led the design and construction of the ARPANET Section 2: Global perspectives 5. French memories about the ARPANET: a conversation with Michel Élie and Gérard Le Lann 6. 25 Years of the Internet in Central America: an interview with Guy de Téramond 7. The real "poor man's Arpanet"? A conversation about Unix networks with Kilnam Chon, godfather of the Asian Internet 8. "The internet and the European market" from a multidisciplinary perspective: a "round-doc" discussion 9. Viviane Reding on her action in the field of the information society and media (2004-2010) Section 3: The web and digital cultures 10. Behind the scenes: an interview with Pierre Beyssac 11. Interfacing counterculture and digital cultures: an interview with Geert Lovink 12. "I am an engineer and therefore a radical": an interview with Lee Felsenstein, from Free Speech Movement technician to Homebrew Computer Club moderator 13. Interview with Aleksandra Kaminska Section 4: Methods 14. The historical trajectories of algorithmic techniques: an interview with Bernhard Rieder 15. Internet histories and computational methods: a "round-doc" discussion