#layer9

Who remembers this little guy:

This is the Open Systems Interconnect model for software on the internet, and it no longer tells the whole story.

Over the past several years, an 8th layer has emerged and stabilized: the social communication layer.  Twitter, Foursquare and Facebook have become de facto standards for interconnecting the 'open systems' that we call people.

With LinkedIn's IPO this week, lots of people are saying it's the dawn of a new era for innovation and creation of value on the internet.  There has been lots of discussion and speculation on what's coming next.

I look at my smartphone, and what do I see?  Instagram, Hashable, PicPlz, Tumblr, soundtracking, BlipSnips.  I see utilities that are built on top of the 8th layer.  The next big thing on the internet is going to be the standardization of layer 9.  Just like TCP/IP standardized 4 & 5, Unicode standardized layer 6, HTTP standardized layer 7 and Twitter standardized layer 8, the standardization of layer 9 will yield the next generation of super companies.

So what's it going to look like?  It's anybody's guess.  I have some ideas, but those are for other posts.  I just wanted to take a minute to get my thoughts straight on the matter, and pose the question to you: What do you think layer 9 is going to look like?

Inventor of the ‘Rocket’ life-saving apparatus Nominated by Jonathan Griffin, Director National Maritime Museum

How do you get people safely off of a grounded ship?  This was that thought going through Henry Trengrouse’s mind when, in 1807, he watched the H.M.S Anson hit the rocks at Low Bar, near Porthleven. This was to become the catalyst for his greatest design -the Rocket Life-Saving Apparatus. It was frankly a stroke of genius.  Inspired by a fireworks party he attended later in the year, he designed a rocket-propelled line that could be used to get crew from a stricken ship.  It used the weather to best advantage, using the onshore winds that drove the ship onto the rocks to take the rocket further ashore.  He then developed a system where ropes could be passed back and forth along the line, and a sliding chair or handle could be attached as a means of evacuation. It was a resounding success.  The Society of Arts awarded Trengrouse their Silver Medal. Eventually the government ordered twenty of Trengrouse's 'Rocket Life Saving Apparatus'. But success was bitter sweet.  Having examined his invention, the government decided to manufacture it themselves, and gave him the derisory sum of £50 in compensation.  Henry Trengrouse, still living in Helston, died penniless in 1854. Amazingly, over 150 years after their invention, lightweight versions of Trengrouse’s rocket are still carried in lifeboats today. That, it seems is how to get people safely off a grounded ship.