Freely sharing information defined the early hacker culture and drove technological invention

Evidence

This ethic is not espoused by all hackers, who love to debate and argue the meaning of their own actions. But taking the hacker ethic as an ideal, intrinsic within it is the idea that information is supposed to benefit everyone. This concept of freely circulating information was especially valuable to those collaborating on iterative hardware and software improvements in the early days, when there was no possibility of proprietary profit. — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 71

Categorization

• XREF: Sets up the ideology that Web 2.0 later reframed as openness/community — connects to how Marwick will contrast this ethic with social media entrepreneurship. — connects to: Social media ideology derives from the hacker ethic of sharing and DIY — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 67; Silicon Valley hacker culture originated in 1970s Bay Area hobbyist clubs — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 68; Openness and transparency form the stated political core of hacker philosophy — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 69 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Early hackers built software that encoded their liberal ideals in technical form #expands (0.85) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 74
• Early web community pioneers worked deliberately to shape technology toward human connection #expands (0.75) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 132