Chapter 9 How Amsterdam Invented the Internet: European Networks of Signifi Cance, 1980Ð1995
Chapter 9 How Amsterdam Invented the Internet: European Networks of Signifi cance, 1980–1995 Caroline Nevejan and Alexander Badenoch 9.1 Nets and the City 1 In his discussions on the use of the Internet in civil society, the internationally renowned sociologist Manuel Castells singled out Amsterdam as the key site of his- torical innovation in Europe. Looking at developments there in the early 1990s, he identifi ed the city’s digital network as “a new form of public sphere combining local institutions, grassroots organizations, and computer networks in the development of cultural expression and civic participation.”2 Many have traced the start of the new public sphere to January 15, 1994, when access to the Internet became available to the general public in the Netherlands via a new dial-in service and virtual access area called De Digitale Stad (Digital City, called DDS). Access to Digital City was open to all: anyone with a modem simply needed to dial an Amsterdam telephone number or use one of the public terminals installed in the city. Subsequently, the 1 This paper describes how the digital culture evolved in Amsterdam. Although the authors appreci- ate that the Amsterdam’s digital culture emerged in a global context, they focus on understanding the global context from the Amsterdam perspective. This chapter is the result of an extended dialogue between Nevejan, a social scientist who was one actor in many of the events described here, and Badenoch, a media historian, in consultation with print archives and other witnesses. The authors are grateful to Geert Lovink, David Garcia, Patrice Riemens, Marleen Stikker, Tjebbe van Tijen, and Frances Brazier for their comments and Ruth Oldenziel and Gerard Alberts for their valuable editorial work.
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