Internet is a Point

"Potentially, Internet is everywhere, yet is a single entity; it is both the concept and the thing. Herein lies its strength: the fact it is a single common space, but on a worldwide scale."

For instance, schools, libraries and public squares are spaces of “synchorisation”. Internet is unique in that it is the first and only common space shared worldwide. From this observation, I started to ask myself what the size of Internet could be? Is Internet an immense space covering the globe? Or on the contrary, and this was my hypothesis, is Internet a single point at the center of the globe? For me, the strength of the Internet is a concentration of power in a single point incorporating the whole world.

According to Boris Beaude, the main feature of the Internet is that it is a space of “synchorisation” on a worldwide scale. The neologism, “Synchorisation”, defines a common space in the same way as synchronization refers to a common time.

Online, Distance is Not Relevant

"Imagine a world in which all new physical actions begin at a given center created by a company specialized in personalized space layouts designed to match customer needs"

"Search engines are at the heart of the Internet edifice. They guarantee the “visibility” (access) of Internet space by controlling the hyperlinks."

By making web pages close or distant (e.g. page ranking), the search engines control Internet architecture. They distribute the space according to users’ needs. Owing to its enormous popularity, Google is the leading search engine, with an estimated 80% to 90% share of markets such as Europe and the US. Google takes up the strategic position located at the heart of this geometric structure, and it controls Internet space.

The first cone represents the loss of distance. As shown in the previous hypothesis, terrestrial space converges at a specific point. On Internet, distance is not relevant. Everything is potentially one click away: i.e. both close and far at the same time. The second cone reintroduces the notion of non-physical distances. On Internet, distance has no relevance, but the notion of space nevertheless remains.

The second hypothesis traces the geometry between terrestrial space and Internet space: two cones whose tips are joined at a given point.

A Global Object Projected at the Local Level

"Internet does not get rid of the traditional geographic boundaries, nor does it dissolve cultural identity, or smooth out linguistic differences: it consecrates them."

"Even if we have access to worldwide content from our computers and smartphones, Internet usage is still determined by local needs and customs; Internet adapts itself to suit the realities of each region."

In Plato’s “Allegory of the Cavern”, a group of people watch a projection of shadows on a wall and think this is reality. The Internet we use is actually a projection of itself through the prism of locality. Internet is a single entity, but with a myriad of territorial projections.

Google does not exist in China. Pirate Bay cannot be accessed from France. Google Earth is prohibited in Morocco. Although there is only one Internet, it is different in each country. French Internet is different from German Internet because they are under different national laws. Nevertheless, Internet also remains this unique single space shared worldwide. Our aim here is to study this paradox between the unicity and diversity of the Internet.

The Relief of Internet’s Surface is Predefined

"The growth of reticular networks, unlike that of cities, increases their interaction potential without boosting their internal distances. Regardless of the network size, the distance between its respective parts is potentially nonexistent. Facebook can host 800 million people without affecting its interaction capacity."

"If no major regulatory measures are taken, the bulk of Internet activities may theoretically be concentrated into a single space by a single player. The most obvious player for that role today is undoubtedly Google."

"What matters, in the end, is to create a centrality that is strong enough to subsequently cover the majority of online practices and activities."

These heavyweight players have dug into the Web surface, dragging activities down their slopes, activities that could have remained independent and decentralized. Instead of creating a new webpage, Internet professional and private users tend to go for a Facebook page and therefore open content hosted on the slope of a dominant curve. The question now is whether all Web activity will eventually be hosted solely on “the slopes” of a few leading players.

Imagine the surface of Internet as a representation of its potential activity. In the early years of Internet, its architecture was distributed, users published their own personal home pages and had a decentralized occupation of the space. Today, most of the activity is concentrated in the hands of a few players. Google for instance offers numerous services that extend beyond the search engine service (email, social network, browser, etc.).

Internet’s Centre of Gravity

« Super-jurisdiction means that the law of one country can, through various forms of cooperation and association implied by server locations and network connections, be extended into and enacted in another. The US, as a result of its unique position in managing the internet’s core, also has jurisdiction over all so-called top level domains, no matter where they are hosted and by whom. […] All dot-com, dot-net, and dot-org domain names are subject to US jurisdiction regardless of where they operate or where they were registered. »

Instead of being distributed over several different points, the weight of Internet is concentrated solely at one focal point: its center of gravity which is located in America. The US has a dominant position on the Net at several different levels, notably via: -ICANN, a nonprofit organization that manages the DNS (Domain Name System); it is under the protective administration of the US government. All the domain names on the Web are registered in the US by ICANN which has the possibility of removing any country from the DNS list and consequently from the Web. The European Union has been advocating total privatization of this service since 2007. - The Patriot Act, an anti-terrorist law voted in 2001, gives the US access to all the servers used in American companies, including those that are not based on US territory. - Edward Snowden’s revelation shows the extent of mass surveillance organized by the US, based on its influential position in Internet space. -The spread of Cloud computing throughout the globe has allowed for the extension of US sovereignty beyond its borders.

Where is Internet?

According to the American cyberlibertarian political activist, John Perry Barlow, we have to admit that cyberspace has a physical existence. It is like a mind and a mind needs a body. The body is a sensitive area because it can be used by negative forces to attack the mind and without the body the mind does not work. There are multiple ways to hurt the mind through the body.

"Spaces that are more protected than airports, deafening machinery, redundant infrastructure, complex architecture to manage electronic and hydraulic systems in order to guarantee the functioning and cooling."

"-In the hypothesis of data leaks, what are the most common methods? - Get connected to the cable and divide it into a Y shape. - “Is that really common?” - Yes it is actually, - In Decix as well? - I cannot say more."

"In order to exist, cyberspace needs equipment and a concrete infrastructure in terrestrial space. With this physical equipment, Internet and cyberspace remain solidly anchored in geographical space. The Internet is a virtual network built into physical reality. It’s a cloud that put down roots into concrete."

Internet exists physically and occupies an inconspicuous space on Earth; buried underground or stored under strict surveillance in a few data centers. There is something magical about the whole Internet system: Internet datacenters light up like modern temples, the deafening sound of the air-conditioning telling its stories in these secret centers whose limited access makes them even more fascinating.

Where do our communications go? The Internet, like the “Cloud”, could appear somewhat hazy and evanescent, but it actually has a solid physical and concrete architectural structure. Data does not just disappear into thin air; they are transmitted via optic fiber cables, connected to Internet boxes, first to the city data center, then to the regional Internet eXchange Point that passes on the information.

The Web is a Framed Space

"The automatic personalization of the user’s environment has been the dream of numerous designers (…). The active and even intrusive use of the ‘digital self’ poses problems of freedom of thought and neutrality."

Users have personalized access to content. From Google PageRank to Amazon home page, we use a tailor-made version of the Internet. So Internet can be both universal and individual: it is the same for all users but, at the same time, it is personalized for each one. There are as many Internet architectures as there are users. While browsing on line, we are modeling Internet space. Each of our clicks serves to sculpt the Internet according to our own image.

By monitoring our online habits, Internet platforms are able to pre-empt users' needs or at least adapt the information collected to match our profiles. By learning from our online behavior patterns, the Web can adapt itself to users and offer personalized browsing.

Finally, the whole infrastructure network itself is based on an assembly of autonomous networks (around 40,000). By speaking the same language, they work together: this ability is called “interoperability”. Internet is a collage of heterogeneous networks. It is a network of networks.

On several levels, Internet architecture functions as an assembly of distinct parts. First, its network structure can be seen as the infinite replication of the same pattern; the multiplication of a single entity that makes up the entire web. Second, its communication protocol, which also works on a cutting and joining system. The data transmitted via the network are subdivided into packets by passing through several layers (4 layers according to the TCP/IP model and 7 layers for the OSI model). All the packets for a given item of data circulate freely on the network and are assembled into a sort of collage on the recipient computer.

The Internet network functions in layers. On the lower layers the information is elementary (bytes - light signals); toward the top layers the information becomes more tangible. One of the Internet’s main strongpoints is that it ensures the through-put of data via the lower layers of the network, without revealing the content of the information transmitted. In this way, Net Neutrality ensures that the end-to-end principle is respected, and that Internet Service Providers do not have access to the top level layers of the network.

Le réseau physique fonctionne en couches. Plus on va vers le bas et plus l’information est élémentaire (Bytes - signaux lumineux) ; plus on remonte vers la couche « application » et plus l’information est tangible. La force du réseau d’Internet est de garder l’information qui transite dans les couches les plus basses donc sans connaissance de la nature de celle ci. Ainsi, la net Neutralité permet d’éviter de casser le principe de bout-à-bout qui serait de permettre aux FAI (Fournisseur d’accès Internet) d’avoir accès aux couches supérieures du réseaux et donc de connaitre la nature des informations dirigées.

« Without enforcing Net Neutrality, much of the control over the Internet is transferred to ISPs, meaning that much of this intelligence is transferred to the network, which violates the end-to-end principle. »

« For an ISP to do its job - transporting data from one machine to another - it generally only needs to the data encapsulated in Layer 3 and below. »

This principle ensures Net Neutrality which, in turn, guarantees equal transmission, without any discrimination according to origin or destination. This is a fundamental principle of non-discrimination. The French group of activists, « La Quadrature du Net », defend Net Neutrality which is often threatened. In February 2015, the US recognized Internet as a « common good » ensuring Net Neutrality.

The physical network of Internet functions according to the end-to-end principle. Intelligence is pushed out to the end-hosts on the network borders: i.e. the transmitter and recipient computers. All the computers located in the middle of the network that transmit information execute simple tasks only.

« This is a new age, where gadgets have a 'hidden agenda' to hold you in their ecosystem of content display and advertising. »

« Many of the cloud’s most powerful companies no longer use the shared internet, but build their own dark fiber highways for convenience, resilience, and speed. »

- Some private companies have teamed up in order to keep users within their business ecosystems. Blackberry proposes the search engine Bing by default, while Apple connects users automatically to Google. - Private sub-networks are increasing on the World Wide Web. Locked by a password, content hosted on Facebook is not accessible to search engines. An invisible frontier keeps the users within this sub-network, thereby masking the rest of the web. - Internet content is divided into a myriad of miscellaneous applications for smartphones and tablets. - A few countries, like Brazil and Germany, aim to nationalize their infrastructure networks in reaction to the NSA mass surveillance program.

While certain Internet frontiers are apparent, such as the dividing-line between the Web and the Deepweb (non-indexed by search machines), or the Great Firewall of China (wall of censorship), the Web is also divided by invisible borders, a phenomenon referred to as Internet Balkanization.

These Web Crawlers are the explorers of a new territory. They have discovered the “coast of this new continent” but a much vaster area still remains untouched by the search engines. Known as the Deepweb, this area is much bigger than the part we have access to, and accounts for around 70% to 75% of the whole Internet.

The Web is usually depicted as an empty network. But the Web is not a blank space; it is populated by « agents » that browse the Net in order to find new webpages. Contrary to its image as a vast expanse of emptiness, the Web is a space that is full of activities. Search engines launch Web Crawlers to discover non-indexed Internet sites.

"Will it be possible one day to join a site offering data-psychoanalysis, data personal development or data intellectual criticism based on Internet’s knowledge and understanding of us ?"

Metadata infiltrate the Internet’s surface where they are preciously collected. On the free Internet, we are not the clients but the products; we pay for online services by letting our digital personality be absorbed through the surface of the Internet.

When we browse the Internet, we automatically generate metadata. This type of data traces our online behavior patterns: what we have clicked on, looked at or looked for. These personal data, when dispersed, create a digital shadow of our online being. Once processed and gathered, the whole collection of data left implicitly by the user can reveal significant information enabling commercial targeting and/or mass surveillance.

All our movements are mapped out on the Web’s surface: our journeys, daily traveling and domestic activities, etc. Being on Internet means being traceable.

Internet space exists via terrestrial space. The Internet systematically connects users to their own localities, triggering off real-time geolocation of each user. Web searches can be improved by geolocation data: finding the closest restaurant for instance. In smartphones, geolocation is constant and takes the form of surveillance tracking.

"But if the Internet of today had a Baron Haussmann, it would certainly be Facebook. Everything allowing for a casual stroll through cyberspace: solitude and individuality, anonymity and opacity, mystery and ambivalence, curiosity and risk-taking has been attacked by this Internet giant."

"When I’m on Internet, I sometimes have a feeling of intense frustration, the impression of being duped by tools like Facebook, Google, and my email account. They eat in to my time, like a phagocyte, and have a counterproductive rather than constructive effect."

"The idea of wandering is omnipresent; the stroll, this promenade without goal, without any destination or home port, is the Internet’s initial activity"

"From website to website, from left click to right click, from hyperlink to ‘back to last page’, we wander, browse, and roam through cyberspace."

Today, however, the slope is much steeper and we slide almost systematically toward the same services. The stroll through the World Wide Web practically does not exist anymore. Big platforms, like Twitter for instance, have replaced the casual stroll by a direct fall into the many distractions on offer.

When browsing online, we go from link to link, our movements propelled by a force that compels us to wander from page to page. As a result of this magnetic-like attraction, caused by the web slope, Internet users slowly slide down the slope in a digital drift. In the early days of Internet, the slope was slight, allowing for digital wandering and serendipity.

Its space is composed like the composition of a painting. The frame delimits Internet space and influences its arrangement; Internet architecture depends on this frame. Web windows work as modular frames, fitting in an infinite number of formats.

Looking at Internet is like looking at a landscape through a window; we see a framed part of the whole view. In the case of the landscape, we can leave the room and see the whole stretch. However, this is not true for the Internet which only exists within a frame.

This publication has been printed from the website: http://internet-atlas.net, the layout is generated automatically for each new format, and continually adapted and readapted from book to poster format. The design was made by Louise Drulhe with HTML and CSS-PRINT.

Printed in September 2015 : responsive print.

At the visual level, I designed the atlas as I would build up a space. My work on the architecture of this atlas is based on a reflection I had in my Masters thesis, “Fluid Design”: the modification, via online graphic creation, of the relation between graphic design and the notion of space. In posters, books and flyers, designers position elements according to the format (small, vertical, horizontal, etc.). Online, it is the opposite; the content is laid out within an ever-changing space or structure since a website can be seen on a computer screen, a tablet or a smartphone. Online, the notion of space is totally different from that of printed media. On Internet, we compose fluid layouts capable of infinite adaptation through endless formats.

From these observations, I built the Critical Atlas of Internet as a publication with an infinite number of formats, both online (website) and on paper (books, posters). I took the premise that websites have, by default, an infinite number of display possibilities, and developed it further by carrying out an experimental design: a book with a multitude of formats. Using CSS-Print, I designed the Atlas layout by creating a set of guidelines. From the browser, the layout is generated automatically according to the format, and continually readapted from book to poster format. The Critical Atlas of Internet is an intangible space, a single computer code with an infinite number of display possibilities ranging from screen to paper to exhibition space.

Thank you to Boris Beaude and Raphaël Bastide

Typefaces: Autopia (designed by Antoine Gelgon) & TGL 0-17

Documentation : http://internet-atlas.net/documentation