Netness

A net concept developed by Sheldon Renan

All things want to be connected — because the more things are connected the better they work.

Limit connectivity and you limit opportunity. Connect the unconnected and you hugely improve odds for success. Netness offers a powerful conceptual tool for guiding innovation and governance going forward."

Where do you see the "network of things" headed?

"I think we're at unique moment in human history", writes Amber Case, "many of us now have the ability to be omniscient and omnipresent at the touch of a button. The omnipresent information net can snap data to us from almost anywhere. However, not all objects have the capability to connect, and those that do often do not do so using the best paths. The so called 'network of things' will come from bringing more things online, connecting more systems, and reducing the friction of those systems".

"The best thing I've found to explain this is something that could be called "Renan's Law" or "Netness". It was developed by Sheldon Renan, an early observer and writer in the high tech industry".

"The more things you connect:, he says, "the better things work; the smarter they are; the safer they are; the more opportunity is created for sharing resources and collaborating.

"We are not just talking about connecting more things over networks", he adds, "and neither are simply just talking about connecting more networks. We are talking about connecting everything".

"If you limit connectivity, you decrease opportunity. You decrease safety".

One of my favorite examples of Netness deals with intelligent systems installed in everyday objects. If an elderly man slips in his bathtub, the bathtub should be able to check his pulse and other biomedical indicators. It should be able to call an ambulance if necessary, or the next of kin if nearby. The bathtub should also know which nurse or caretaker is closest and on shift, and how quickly one might be able to arrive.

Now the scale and intimacy of connectivity is increasing (accelerating) at a scary rate. We don't see it, but we do sense it. The term "netness" characterizes our new state-of-being as connectivity becomes increasingly ubiquitous, our lives increasingly "entangled."

Recognizing netness leads to recognizing this simple principle: connectivity is the most important enabler of creating of new value.

Forget Moore's Law. It is extending connectivity across and beyond networks that increases knowledge, safety, collaboration and (critical for eCommers) access to new models and markets.

Principles

• 1. Everything wants to be connected (or at least to be able to "converse" frictionlessly on an ad hoc basis)
• 2. The more things are connected (able to communicate) the better things work.
• 3. As connectivity becomes ubiquitous, systems (networks) become fields... connectivity fields...
• 4. A new class or state of connectivity is emerging which i've been calling "entangled" (many threaded, loosely but deeply connected) as in entangled conversations, lives, communities, networks...
• 5. As networks become fields, as lives and things become entangled, two worlds > the world of atoms and the world of bits < become one, greatly enhancing future opportunity and potential capability of all participants
• 6. The ability to connect, coordinate, collaborate and share easily everywhere on an ad hoc basis is now replacing Moore's Law as the most important source of opportunity."

Also see: http://www.socialtext.net/cookreport/index.cgi?netness [Netness on SocialText] and Netness on p2p foundation