ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the history of the digital public space as a concept, unpick the definition, and explore what and who is encompassed by the term. It provides a brief overview of the evolutionary history of human culture and cognition, and relate this to the concept of ‘technological revolutions’; points beyond which a particular innovation is irrevocably bound to the way we live our lives so that it cannot be removed without major societal collapse. The book explores the ways in which physicality has affected the development of digital public spaces. It proposes that a key part of the digital public space is the information space that pervades our modern connected lives. The book discusses aspects of ownership and transaction, and new forms which are being developed for digital public space.
