The Master Switch
Tim Wu · first published 2010 · ISBN 9780307390998
Wu identifies a recurring pattern in media history: new technologies start open and chaotic, then get centralized under a monopoly or cartel. He traces telephone, radio, film, and television to show how each went from distributed innovation to corporate control, then asks whether the internet will follow the same path.
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The Best Books About Search Engines and the Internet
This historical framework helps you see why search engines and internet platforms concentrate power. Wu's pattern explains why Google and similar companies inevitably grew dominant, and what happens when information infrastructure gets controlled by a few players.