The Internet publication of the Starr Report: This is a defining moment for the Internet, but not necessarily a proud one.

International financial support for Russia: Large companies such as IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and HewlettPackard (among others) have done a lot more for Russia and its people than any bilateral aid. Those companies didn't simply send money to Russia; they stuck around and trained people how to use it, invested in offices and support programmes for dealers and software partners. They built an infrastructure so that their product would be worth something to their customers.

Empowerment through the Internet: People by and large would rather be good than bad. If you give people a tool that gives them more power for themselves, not more power over others, they'll tend to use it to do good. That's why I'm fundamentally optimistic.

Power: People who stay in power get entrenched and abusive. If I had to choose between a small guy and a big guy knowing nothing else, I'd always go for the small guy, not because he may be intrinsically better, but because he's had less chance to be a jerk. People who have power become careless in the use of it.

The Internet: The real issue regarding the Net is going to be people's ability to use it, their education and their literacy. The world will favour the educated . . . you can't take knowledge and just give it to people. They have to take the knowledge. They have to learn. We're becoming a society in which people who don't contribute don't get anything. People have to learn they must contribute. What the Net does to social and interpersonal relationships and the balance of power is more important than what it's going to do to commerce. What's magical is how it's going to affect people and relationships. A new kind of community, not a culture, is coming.