The Horizontal Dream that Became a Vertical Reality

Made Essential Reading on 10 March 2010 Felix Hemsley

As obscure as the title may at first appear, I’m sure that by the end of this article you would have written it yourself.

I was recently recommended by our very own Richard Turrell to watch the first in a series of documentaries put together by the BBC around “The Virtual Revolution”, which delves into the Internet and the Web, from inception to fruition and through its evolution.

I’ll try not to drag this post down into the nitty-gritty and keep it all as relevant and top line as possible, but essentially, the story is one of a hippy dream and human nature.

From its very humble beginnings as a support mechanism for collaboration on a CERN project created by Englishman Tim Berners-Lee, the Internet truly has transformed our world, but the values of the Internet have also been changed by our very human nature. Initially conceived as a truly open system to share and collaborate, the Internet sought to be a horizontal environment, with no authority or singular hub of expertise, but to be an opportunity for everyone to give their input.

Unsurprisingly, one name was key to the change into a more vertical structure, Microsoft. Bill Gates identified an opportunity to sell his ‘Basic’ programs which he wrote, to others on the Internet, where many were creating and providing them for free. This was the start of the ‘monetisation’ and corporate infiltration of the Internet. Over time, this has only grown in prominence as we have all seen, with individual names dominating certain areas:

• Search – Google
• Auction – ebay
• Social Network – Facebook
• Shopping Centre – Amazon
• Etc..

Whilst the programme delves much deeper into this change and evolution, it got me thinking about the potential role of social media in this development of the Internet. Whilst there are dominant social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Myspace, Bebo, YouTube and Flickr, they all have one thing in common, which is sharing. The original aims and ideals of the Internet are what now drive the majority of us to use it on such a regular basis. This ability to share almost anything brings with it an inherent ability to publicise and broadcast to a content hungry audience, and vice versa, and have commentary and recommendations sent back.

I’m going to take Amazon as my example to illustrate the evolving mechanics in this new arena. In nominal terms, the majority of individuals online are aware of Amazon and its extensive range of products for purchase. Amazon ranks highly in Google’s organic search for products and in a search engine only environment, it would be sure to gain the lions share of sales from the online audience. However in this ‘new’ realm where people share information so readily, alternatives and experiences are divulged all the time, shaping the existence of venues everywhere. Now imagine that happening time and time again, different products, different people, different places… Suddenly the market place becomes open again, and the super powers such as Amazon are somewhat deflated.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not foreseeing the collapse of the online hierarchy just yet, but with the increase in Social Media usage I do, to some extent, predict a levelling of the playing field. After all, the online shopping experience doesn’t abide by the physical experience rules of the high street.

My father has a sign in his office which reads:

I’ve always valued this, and have always considered it when buying something which seems like a bargain but in the online world, the differentiator in most cases is the price, the product is identical. The Internet has always set new rules, it has redefined marketing and traditional sales models.

The Internet is organic and I would defy anyone to say that anything is for certain. I believe that this growth period for the web is centred around social interactions and I believe they will become the defining authorities on who the super powers are in the digital space!

The Internet was commented on the brief as being “Vague but exciting” yet it changed everything. It will only take another vague idea to change it all again!