Hyperconnectivity

1 The Technological Offer and Globalized Services

Considering the anteriority of the offer and the fact that without a technological offer there is no usage, it is important to clarify how a technological offer accompanied by a range of different services has gradually been designed and globally established in a very short time. Alongside this consideration of the anteriority of the offer, it must be acknowledged that devices deployed by some users are increasingly present, and the offer does not necessarily mean usage, sometimes it even feeds on social innovations, such as free software or common digital dynamics. It is not about retracing the development of IT which, despite what some literature may say, did not develop without interruption, linearly and without failures. The development of IT since World War II has not been a bed of roses¹.

It is useful, by referring to volume 1 of this series “Computing and Connected Society”, to reconsider some features which have brought about the evolution of an important phase of social computerization which: the implementation of the network of Internet networks. Both the founding technical specifications and the discursive productions it brought can be identified in order to understand the development of the offer and its spread over a longer timescale. Similarly, it is important to mention the values which still exist today, such as freedom of expression, sharing and free and universal access, which have somewhat faded or are mixed ...