Robert Metcalfe

Part of the reason that people consider Metcalfe an early advocate of the internet was his involvement in getting buy-in for ARPANET, a precursor to the global internet that is now commonplace. By promoting ARPANET in early efforts, Metcalfe helped to secure the groundswell for the global internet as it exists now. He is also credited with Metcalfe’s Law, which states that a network is powerful in proportion to the square of its nodes.

Metcalf is also known as a columnist, famous for predicting the downfall of the internet in 1996.