A Break in the Cloud: Finding the Local in the Global Internet
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- The Internet has radically changed every mode of production, distribution, and consumption in modern life, granting global access to information transcending time and space. However, the physical infrastructure that enables the Internet is often overlooked, due to the virtual and intangible nature of Internet connection. This disconnect between the digital and the physical is captured by the popular buzzword - “the cloud” - a metaphor that abstracts away the vast, energy-guzzling tracts of data server farms kept hidden in corporate secrecy. This thesis seeks to make “the cloud” visible and concrete, and in doing so, zooms in from the Internet’s “global village”1 back to the physical realities of Internet infrastructure embedded within local communities. Through an analysis and synthesis of technical papers, corporate marketing, policy reports, and maps, it situates the “global” nature of the cloud within national and local politics and communities. In addition, through a case study of Google’s first data center in The Dalles, Oregon, and its intimate relationship with a community-piloted municipal fiber network - QLife Network - this thesis brings local community needs and negotiations in conversation with the global corporate order of digital technologies. The discussion concludes with a proposed framework for a community-oriented approach to accessing the global Internet, urging for visibility through new media art and community-based Internet infrastructure investment. Recognizing the realities of local within a global Internet makes the first necessary step in bringing the cloud out of its technological black box, and in short, finding the break in the cloud.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | 2018 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Huang, Janna Zou |
|---|
Subjects
| Subject | Computer Science |
|---|---|
| Subject | STS |
| Subject | Interdisciplinary Honors |
| Subject | Internet |
| Subject | Media Studies |
| Subject | Cloud Computing |
| Subject | Media Infrastructure |
| Subject | Community |
| Subject | Access |
| Subject | Digital Divide |
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (CC BY).
Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Huang, Janna Zou. (2018). A Break in the Cloud: Finding the Local in the Global Internet. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/wp639bf0448
Collection
Stanford University, Program in Science, Technology and Society, Honors Theses
View other items in this collection in SearchWorksContact information
- Contact
- jhuang7@stanford.edu
Also listed in
Loading usage metrics...