Bob Cannon at the FCC has a great post summarizing forty-some odd years of data (now Internet) regulation. If you feel inclined to Tweet about Net Neutrality or to weigh in about some form of Internet regulation, you might want to read his longer paper about the Computer Inquiries.
Of course, the FCC has full text of these documents. And I highly recommend reading them — they’re the perfect antidote to the never-ending onslaught of newly-anointed twenty-something “geeks” who swear to you that this latest iPhone app is truly transformative…in that never-trust-a-tech-person-over-forty (or is that fifty?) sort of way.
I found the Computer Inquiries, coupled with enough history from scientists at Bell Labs, to be a moderating influence back in the dotcom days. Even today, it’s soothing and reassuring to know that — a half century ago — a team of lawyers and scientists were putting on clunky, plastic glasses; sitting on leather couches; smoking indoors; and using typewriters — all in an effort to contemplate the challenges we’d face today.