The Sustainable Network

Chapter 8. Take It with You

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

— Mark Twain

Google has always had its eyes on the application layer of what the network delivers. It started with search and continues to revolutionize the services and applications we rely on as we go about our daily lives. The more we rely on those services and applications, the more we need the network to support them, fueling the exponential growth of its adoption, which in turn increases the use of the applications and services. It's a self-perpetuating cycle that represents the possible. And if you are thinking that these services and applications are starting to border on the sci-fi depicted in movies, cartoons, and graphic novels, you're right. Isn't it exciting?!

At a fundamental level, we have been spoiled by the rise of the mobile machines. We've experienced moments when we were able to access the resources we needed, using the devices we wanted, from wherever we were. It's a heady feeling the first time it works, and you don't want to go backward. We are empowered. We are all walking encyclopedias, able to answer almost any question with a just a few taps of a button.

And in the past few years, whether we are at ...