The Eternal Battle Between Open and Closed Systems

In the grand sweep of human technological evolution, we repeatedly witness a fascinating pattern: the tension between open and closed systems, between the wild frontier of public infrastructure and the controlled confines of private domains. This pattern has manifested itself across multiple technological revolutions, from the internet to blockchain to artificial intelligence, revealing a deeper truth about how humans adopt transformative technologies.

Consider the birth of the internet. In its early days during the 1990s, many corporations viewed the public internet with deep suspicion. Their concerns weren't entirely unfounded – here was a wild, uncontrolled network where anyone could potentially access sensitive information. The natural corporate response was to retreat into the familiar comfort of intranets: private, controlled networks that promised security and predictability.

These corporate intranets seemed like the perfect solution. They offered email, file sharing, and internal websites, all within a carefully controlled environment. Major companies invested millions in building these private networks, convinced they represented the future of corporate communication. Industry analysts confidently predicted that serious business would always require the security and control of private networks.

But they were missing something fundamental about human nature and the power of open systems.

What these early skeptics failed to grasp was that the true value of a network grows exponentially with its connections – a principle known as Metcalfe's Law. While intranets could connect hundreds or thousands of employees, the public internet was connecting millions, soon to be billions, of people. The sheer innovative potential of this vast network proved irresistible. Developers could create new applications without asking anyone's permission. Ideas could spread and evolve at unprecedented speed.

Gradually, then suddenly, the tide turned. The same companies that once shunned the public internet began to embrace it. They discovered that the benefits of connecting to this vast, open network far outweighed the risks. Security concerns were addressed through encryption and other technologies rather than isolation. By the early 2000s, the corporate intranet had largely become an adjunct to the public internet rather than an alternative to it.

A decade later, history began to rhyme with the emergence of blockchain technology.