Tag: keywords

Keyword: Decentralization

Map of United States postal service routes west of the Mississippi in 1867, depicting an early distributed communication network. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

This is an entry in our Keyword series, where we try to define the terms you’ll often hear when people talk about building a better Internet and put those keywords in their current context. The term decentralization gets thrown around a lot today, often referring to a paradigm shift in Internet technologies that’s just around… Continue reading Keyword: Decentralization

Keyword: Accidental Infrastructure

An IRL example of accidental infrastructure: at the height of the COVID pandemic, parking spaces on city streets were converted into outdoor restaurant seating. Image via Wikimedia Commons user Eden, Janine and Jim.

This is an entry in our Keyword series, where we try to define the terms you’ll often hear when people talk about building a better Internet and put those keywords in their current context. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, people and organizations needed a new virtual space to host all kinds of… Continue reading Keyword: Accidental Infrastructure

Keyword: Interoperability

Different types of cacti can be grafted onto each other, creating a way for two plants to grow together. Is this succulent interoperability? (Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons via Yercaud-elango)

Interoperability — it’s a gruesome little chunk of jargon that refers to a fairly fundamental tenet of the Internet. Simply, it means that different applications and devices can share the same data with one another. As users, we enjoy interoperability daily.