Who said information wants to be free?

That popular view of social media and the Internet in general can be traced to 1987, when an earlier generation of computer gurus overhauled Usenet, an early discussion board system. Alexandra Samuel traces the history in the Harvard Business Review. “‘Free, open and participatory’ is the social web’s equivalent to ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,’” she writes. “And it’s been a driving force on the Internet since at least 1987.”