There are two reasons for this. The first, is that I believe the most dramatic and far-reaching impact of the Net will be the changes in how we conduct commerce and trade. Throughout history, seemingly mundane commercial endeavors have had profound and lasting impact on society and history. Trade routes drove exploration, conquest and wars. The public appetite for goods was the economic fuel to build ever faster means of transportation and more ubiquitous transportation infrastructure.
Commerce drives invention and industry, which in turn changes society.
The second reason for the pervasiveness of this theme is that I just can t help it. My profession is sales, and my thoughts just naturally gravitate along those lines. An occupational hazard. I would like to see the snake slither out of the server in which it resides today and begin to wander around the Net. I look forward to adding chapters from other contributors on other webservers, perhaps you.