Welcome to the Web, and the World

This writing project seeks to answer a single question: is the internet good for us?

We already know the answer, or think we do. It’s good and bad and neither and somewhere in-between. And while there’s already plenty of writing out there about internet and technology use in America — there’s a whole world out there.

So what’s the internet look like to them, everybody else, out there in the world — and won’t it be fun to find out?

Who am I?

I’m Ted McCarthy, someone who’s been lucky enough to spend 10+ years interviewing people around the world about their internet and technology habits, hates, and desires. And I don’t plan to stop anytime soon.

I was in academia before going all “but I am le tired” and shifting to research consulting, and onto Google for over 7 years from there. Much of my work in that time focused on expanding internet access in the Global South, places like India, Indonesia, Philippines, Brazil, and Nigeria. Projects aimed at making the internet more available, and affordable, for billions of people.

I felt good doing this work — for a while. But all along I wondered, “is this really as good for us as we all hope?” So here we are, trying to answer that question.

Why subscribe?

Because 🔥🔥🔥 content comes out every Thursday, fresh to your inbox. And you wouldn’t want to miss that, would you?

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