The Digital Economy ANNIVERSARY EDITION: Rethinking Promise and Peril in the Age of Networked Intelligence

Foreword to The Digital Economy 20th Anniversary Edition by Eric Schmidt ix

Preface to The Digital Economy 20th Anniversary Edition xi
Original Preface to the 1995 Edition xxiii

Acknowledgments for the 1995 Edition xxvii
Acknowledgments for the 20th Anniversary Edition xxix

20th Anniversary Edition Commentary on Chapter 1 1
CHAPTER ONE The Age of Networked Intelligence 11

PART I Thriving In A New Economy

20th Anniversary Edition Commentary on Chapter 2 51
CHAPTER TWO Twelve Themes of the New Economy 54

20th Anniversary Edition Commentary on Chapter 3 83
CHAPTER THREE The Internetworked Business 91

20th Anniversary Edition Commentary on Chapter 4 113
CHAPTER FOUR The New Technology: Say You Want aRevolution 127

PART II Internetworking

20th Anniversary Edition Commentary on Chapter 5 155
CHAPTER FIVE The Internetworked Business at Work 160

20th Anniversary Edition Commentary on Chapter 6 191
CHAPTER SIX Internetworked Government 195

20th Anniversary Edition Commentary on Chapter 7 217
CHAPTER SEVEN Have Network, Will Travel 223

20th Anniversary Edition Commentary on Chapter 8 237
CHAPTER EIGHT Learning in the Digital Economy 247

PART III Leadership For Transformation

20th Anniversary Edition Commentary on Chapter 9 267
CHAPTER NINE The New Media Industry 271

20th Anniversary Edition Commentary on Chapter 10 297
CHAPTER TEN Leadership for the InternetworkedBusiness 304

PART IV Leadership For The Digital Frontier

20th Anniversary Edition Commentary on Chapter 11 327
CHAPTER ELEVEN Privacy in the Digital Economy 333

20th Anniversary Edition Commentary on Chapter 12 347
CHAPTER TWELVE The New Responsibilities of Business 359

Appendixes 395
Selected Readings 40

“Twenty years of hindsight prove how deeply Tapscott understood the impact the Internet would have on the way we live, work, play and learn. This important book, now updated, is just as relevant today as it was then.”
John Chambers, Chairman and CEO, Cisco

With a new foreword by Eric Schmidt, Chief Executive of Google

Two decades ago, The Digital Economy changed the way the world thought about the Web and Internet. While everyone else was in awe of “websites” and "dot coms," Don Tapscott was among the first people to argue that the Internet would fully transform the nature of business and government. It goes without saying that his predictions were spot on.

Now, in this new edition of his classic work, the New York Times bestselling author provides topical updates with a sweeping new analysis of how the Internet has changed business and society in the last 20 years, covering:

• Natural frictions between present-day Industrial Capitalism and the Digital Economy
• The radical effects of the Internet on traditional corporate structures and systems
• Dramatic changes in business collaboration and culture thanks to social media
• The rise of web-based analytics and how they have transformed business functions
• Government transparency, citizen empowerment, and the creation of public value
• Teaching and learning—revolutionary developments driven by digital content

When Tapscott was writing the original edition in 1994, he was living in a world where Netscape had been just introduced as go-to browser, websites didn’t do transactions, dial-up was the only way to get online, and mobile phones sightings were rare. Google, YouTube, eBay, Facebook, Twitter? They didn’t exist.

Preserving all the original text as it appeared 20 years ago, this new edition includes detailed essays ending each chapter—Tapscott’s highly informed reflections on his predictions, along with new forecasts of where the digital world is headed.

Praise for the new edition of The Digital Economy

“1994 was a good year. Netscape Navigator and The Digital Economy. With this anniversary edition, Tapscott provides lucid insights for the next stage of these amazing times.”
Marc Andreessen, Co-founder and General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz

“Brilliant. Governments can learn from The Digital Economy how to democratize access to prosperity, minimize social and economic divides and transform government and democracy for the 21st Century.”
Enrique Peña Nieto, President of Mexico

“We’re now into three decades of terrific insights and analysis from Don Tapscott about the digital revolution! Read this book!”
Ajay Banga, President and CEO, Mastercard