Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet

Book Synopsis: A potent exploration of the power of blockchains to reshape the future of the internet—and how that affects us all—from influential technology entrepreneur and startup investor Chris Dixon.

The internet of today is a far cry from its early promise of a decentralized, democratic network of innovation, connection, and freedom. In the past decade, it has fallen under the control of a small group of powerful companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, and others. In Read Write Own, tech visionary Chris Dixon argues that the dream of an open network for fostering creativity and entrepreneurship doesn’t have to die. In fact, it can, and must, be saved with blockchain networks, a radical new way to design fair and freely accessible internet services that put users in charge. He distinguishes this movement, which aims to provide a solid foundation for everything from social networks and marketplaces to artificial intelligence products and immersive virtual worlds, from the cryptocurrency speculation that it is unfortunately lumped together with—a distinction he calls “the computer vs. the casino.”

With lucid and compelling prose—and drawing from firsthand observations, mental models, and experiences from a twenty-five-year career in the software industry—Dixon shows how the internet has undergone three distinct eras, bringing us to the critical moment we’re in today. The first was the “read era,” circa the 1990s, in which early networks democratized information. In the “read-write era,” during the mid-2000s, corporate networks democratized publishing. We are now in the midst of the “read-write-own era,” sometimes called web3, in which blockchain networks have begun to democratize ownership, granting power and economic benefits to communities of users, not just corporations.

Read Write Own is a must-read for anyone—internet users, business leaders, artists, creators, entrepreneurs, the tech-curious—who wants to understand where we’ve been and where we’re going. It provides a vision for a better internet, a clarion call for anyone looking to navigate or build the future, and a playbook for getting there.