How the Internet Really Works and How it Encourages Random Acts of Kindness

If you've began to think of the Internet as becoming more trouble than it is worth because of phishing attempts, viruses, and other ways that one man tries to take advantage of another, this video podcast will certainly make you think again. 

Jonathan Zittrain, a professor of Internet law, first does a great job of explaining in a humorous way how low-level technology that makes the Internet possible actually works and how dependent it is on people voluntarily playing by the rules.  He gives a great example of what happens when this does not happen when he describes how Pakistani internet censorship inadvertently hijacked YouTube a couple of years back.

He then goes on to provide real-world examples of how people who do not know each other come together on the Internet to voluntarily provide value to others and even self-police themselves.

Watch "The Web As Random Acts of Kindness" on Ted.com or download the talk on iTunes.