Videoage International May 2019

10 Book Review May 2019 V I D E O A G E By Dom Serafini O ne needs perseverance, discipline, and patience to finish reading From Gutenberg to Google , a new book by 73-year-old Tom Wheeler, a former cable TV lobbyist and onetime chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), theU.S. government regulatory agency for everything that has to do with electronic communications. Although the book is tedious, it has a clever subtitle: “The History of Our Future,” which encourages readers to turn the pages in the hopes of finding something exciting. One never really finds it, though. Ultimately, the book includes very little information about the future and a little too much about the past — much of which is already widely known. In addition, contrary to the book’s title, Wheeler devotes more space to Facebook (10 pages), than to Google (just five pages), and it’s nothing of significance. Wheeler notes early on that the “editor in chief” of the book was his wife, Carol, who seems to be a technology history buff. “It doesn’t get in the book until it makes sense to her,” he wrote. Wheeler also credits his research assistant, Matthew Spector, for breaking his habit “of capitalizing the word ‘internet’.” Now, that’s something interesting thatWheeler’s book doesn’t cover. The question of whether the word “Internet” should be capitalized has been so passionately debated and is so controversial that it even has its own Wikipedia page. It was only in June 2006 that The New York Times announced that it would be joining The Associated Press in changing its style rule to write the word “internet” in all lower case letters. Nevertheless, we at VideoAge respect tradition and will continue to write “Internet” with the uppercase “I.” Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler’s 286-page hardcover book—of which 32 pages are notes, and 12 are the index — was published by Brookings Institution Press, part of a Washington, D.C.-based private research group that, over the years, has been accused alternatively of political biases at both ends of the spectrum. This isWheeler’s thirdbook, but onewonders if he is the same Thomas EdgarWheeler whowrote such interesting and amusing books as Take Command: Leadership Lessons from the Civil War (Doubleday, 2000), and Mr. Lincoln’s T-Mails: The Untold Story of How Abraham Lincoln Used the Telegraph to Win the Civil War (HarperCollins, 2006). DuringWheeler’s chairmanship— from 2013 to 2017 when he was appointed by President Barack Obama — the FCC dealt with issues such as Net Neutrality (which he calls by its official name: The Open Internet Rule), the Fairness Doctrine, and Media Ownership. On February 26, 2015, the FCC ruled in favor of Net Neutrality. However, on December 14, 2017, the FCC (under President Donald Trump) voted to dismantle rules regulating the businesses that connect consumers to the Internet, granting broadband companies the power to potentially reshape Americans’ online experiences. The FCC scrapped the Net Neutrality regula- tions that prohibited broadband providers from blocking websites or charging for higher-qua- lity service or certain content. The federal go- vernment will also no longer regulate high-speed Internet delivery as if it were a utility, like pho- ne service. This action effectively reversed the FCC’s 2015 decision made during the Obama ad- ministration to have stronger oversight over bro- adband providers. Ultimately, however, any critics of this book will have problems writing up a full-page review with relevant information about the book because little information is offered. Therefore, readers should prepare themselves for large photos and a pull quote. The Past Seen from the FCC’s Perspective. The Promised Future Is the History of the Past TomWheeler Ultimately, the book includes very little information about the future and a little too much about the past — much of which is already widely known. However, under the guidance of President Obama, Net Neutrality became Wheeler’s main FCC goal, which is commendable, especially since he was a former lobbyist for the cable TV industry that would be benefitting from an unregulated Internet wherein broadband providers could charge users according to the speed and volume of data demanded. In November 2014, Obama gave a speech endorsing the classification of ISPs as utilities (e.g., telephone companies), under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934, and thus officially embraced Net Neutrality.