Crocker and Postel - The founding fathers of the Internet - digital marketing
Crocker, Cerf and Postel – The founding fathers of the Internet

I had the distinct pleasure to meet and interview Dr Stephen Crocker, one of the three founding fathers of the Internet.  In the photo on the left, Steve is the one with the intention of only listening to what goes on.  The other two are Jon Postel (1943-1998) and Vinton Cerf (b 1943).  As a graduate student at UCLA in the 1960s, Dr Steve Crocker helped to set up the original ARPANET, and was the author of the code for the seminal RFC Request for Comment, which is still in use today.  In December 2010, Steve was elected Vice-Chair of the ICANN Board and has been Chair of ICANN’s Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) since its inception in 2002.

Once Arpan a time with Steve Crocker

The original network - social marketing
Once arpan a time there was a network

I caught up with Steve at the Netexplorateur Forum 2011 (at UNESCO, Paris) where he gave a memorable keynote speech.  In this interview, I got a chance to hear about the founding of the Internet, the activities of the ICANN, his spin on the Netexplorateur event as well as his venture, Shinkuro (synchronicity in Japanese), a light file-sharing system that does not rely on the cloud.  Steve continues to espouse the very values that accompanied the founding of the Internet: transparency, social intelligence and a passion to share.  It was a unique moment for me.  I hope you enjoy the interview.

To read more about Steve Crocker:

  • History of the ARPANET – and here is a longer text from Michael Hauben at Columbia.
  • History of the creation of the Request for Comment (RFC)
  • ICANN Board Member

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Meanwhile, you can find my other English-speaking interviews on the Minter Dialogue Radio Show here on Megaphone or via iTunes.  And for the francophones reading this, if you want to get more podcasts, you can also find my radio show en français over at : MinterDial.fr, on Megaphone or in iTunes.

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