There is a growing trend among wired and wireless services to
split the Internet into isolated mini-networks and gain an
advantage in directing and controlling users activities. This
technique is called the “Walled Garden” approach in that the
user is allowed access only to a limited area under the control
of the service provider. While giving the appearance of advantage
to the smaller closed network that can choose what content
and services the users are able to interact with, the reality
is that the mini-network loses value exponentially.
Examples of attempts to split the Internet into smaller isolated
networks include:
• The early days of email. Early email providers resisted giving
send/receive access to users of other email systems.
• Instant messaging systems. Closed IM systems such as AOL
IM have repeatedly blocked efforts of smaller IM systems to
interconnect users of various competing IM systems.
• WAP portals. Many wireless carriers have created WAP services
that are only able to access sites offered by the carrier or carrier
friendly providers. By locking the device settings or WAP
server settings other sites are blocked from access even when
users know and attempt to enter the competing WAP URLs.
• Blocking or banning the ability of other sites to link to specific
pages on another site (deep linking) requiring users to access
content only via the original homepage links. Some content
owners want to block any traffic that does not originate from
their marketing efforts while others welcome official or unofficial
affiliates that point to their site.
The effect of Metcalfe’s law in reverse reduces value for all
parties involved. The networks users lose the value of a larger
more complete network. The networks not only lose value individually
but as a (now separate) group as well. Because of
Metcalfe’s law, the largest network always wins over smaller
networks even when the smaller network initially offers value
creating features or benefits. As the larger networks grow, the
value of the sheer number of reachable users, services and content
ultimately favors the larger networks. Since the Internet is
the largest network of them all, it will not only eventually win
over smaller proprietary networks (wired or wireless) but the
wired internet and wireless internet will only benefit each other
as they join together into a common network.
Attempts to create walled gardens of content and services
for wireless Internet users have failed (and even been declared
illegal) in many European and Asian countries. Service
providers will only succeed in creating long-term value by
focusing on quality of services instead of limiting access to
other perhaps better services.