Open Standards and the Digital Age: History, Ideology, and Networks

Contents: 

• Introduction
• Ideological origins of open standards I: telegraph and engineering standards, 1860s-1900s
• Ideological origins of open standards II: American standards, 1910s-1930s
• Standardization and the monopoly Bell system, 1880s-1930s
• Critiques of centralized control, 1930s-1970s
• International standards for the convergence of computers and communications, 1960s-1970s
• Open systems and the limits of democratic design, 1970s-1980s
• The internet and the advantages of autocratic design, 1970s-1990s
• Conclusion: Open standards and an open world