However, in the twentieth century, these bureaucracies have developed special attributes. No longer are they merel concerned with the orderly transmission and storage of information within their own organisations, but because of the shift from an industrial to a service economy in the post modern society, bureaucracies have become large information gatherers. In fact, they have invented the special post modern form of information: the database Bureaucracies have now become the mainstay of modern government, with databases displacing knowledge and even turning knowledge itself into a database Private sector bureaucracies, such as corporations, also arose rapidly in the service economies, especially in the competition to capitalise on multi-national economic opportunities. The forerunners of these were unique part-government, part-private companies that carried out the main actions of colonisation of many parts of the world. The Dutch East India Company, for example, scoured the world in search of resources to exploit. Such companies managed their complex international affairs of trade through well-developed bureaucracies. Their modern counterparts util ise extensive databases in order to guide mass sales and marketing. While credit card databases improve sales efficiency and payments, the information they contain affords them a significant amount of social power. For example, credit histories of individuals may be bought and sold. Individual loan decisions and many other aspects of a person's life may be determined by a credit record Private sector demands for efficiency and a need to store vast amounts of data stimulated the development of new information technologies. Large filing cabinets and record books of nineteenth century bureaucracies have been replaced by mainframe computers in the twentieth century. Mass-marketing techniques demand immediate retrieval and processing of client information, and sifting of databases for specific information Public opinion polls for private, political and governmental use, which provide instant feedback on mass inquiries, have become a mainstay of modern information societies. Instant databases, which provide reports such as credit license registration, have become a necessity of modern information societies. Demand for easier access to information is met with increasingly powerful computers and less restricted computer access via cellular telephones and the internet One outcome of this information technology has been that confidentiality and security of databases have become of great concern. The private sector recognises their financial value and seeks to restrict access to them from competitors. At the same time corporations compete for access to and compilation of new databases, which are viewed as assets. Access and ownership of databases, particularly those profiling individual citizens, has become a serious legal and political question, since individual rights of privacy are at risk. Originally, database content could be easily protected because information was stored on the single mainframe computer, to which outside access was limited. With the growth of the Internet and rapid improvements in telecommunications, however, it has become increasingly difficult to limit and control access to most databases. As we shall see, the Internet is providing drastic and exciting changes in the distribution of authority, knowledge, and control 9. The Internet as a vehicle of radical change Mass communications and mass storage have come together to create what is popularly called the global Village, of which the Internet is argued to be the typical reflection. The analogy between the village and the Internet is persuasive. Like a traditional village, on the Internet all voices can be represented as though in a small- 9 - However, in the twentieth century, these bureaucracies have developed special attributes. No longer are they merely concerned with the orderly transmission and storage of information within their own organisations, but because of the shift from an industrial to a service economy in the post modern society, bureaucracies have become large information gatherers. In fact, they have invented the special post modern form of information: the database. Bureaucracies have now become the mainstay of modern government, with databases displacing knowledge and even turning knowledge itself into a database. Private sector bureaucracies, such as corporations, also arose rapidly in the service economies, especially in the competition to capitalise on multi-national economic opportunities. The forerunners of these were unique, part-government, part-private companies that carried out the main actions of colonisation of many parts of the world. The Dutch East India Company, for example, scoured the world in search of resources to exploit. Such companies managed their complex international affairs of trade through well-developed bureaucracies. Their modern counterparts utilise extensive databases in order to guide mass sales and marketing. While credit card databases improve sales efficiency and payments, the information they contain affords them a significant amount of social power. For example, credit histories of individuals may be bought and sold. Individual loan decisions and many other aspects of a person’s life may be determined by a credit record. Private sector demands for efficiency and a need to store vast amounts of data stimulated the development of new information technologies. Large filing cabinets and record books of nineteenth century bureaucracies have been replaced by mainframe computers in the twentieth century. Mass-marketing techniques demand immediate retrieval and processing of client information, and sifting of databases for specific information. Public opinion polls for private, political and governmental use, which provide instant feedback on mass inquiries, have become a mainstay of modern information societies. Instant databases, which provide reports such as credit ratings or car license registration, have become a necessity of modern information societies. Demand for easier access to information is met with increasingly powerful computers and less restricted computer access via cellular telephones and the Internet. One outcome of this information technology has been that confidentiality and security of databases have become of great concern. The private sector recognises their financial value and seeks to restrict access to them from competitors. At the same time corporations compete for access to and compilation of new databases, which are viewed as assets. Access and ownership of databases, particularly those profiling individual citizens, has become a serious legal and political question, since individual rights of privacy are at risk. Originally, database content could be easily protected because information was stored on the single mainframe computer, to which outside access was limited. With the growth of the Internet and rapid improvements in telecommunications, however, it has become increasingly difficult to limit and control access to most databases. As we shall see, the Internet is providing drastic and exciting changes in the distribution of authority, knowledge, and control.. 9. The Internet as a Vehicle of Radical Change Mass communications and mass storage have come together to create what is popularly called the Global Village, of which the Internet is argued to be the typical reflection. The analogy between the village and the Internet is persuasive. Like a traditional village, on the Internet all voices can be represented as though in a small