Larry Downes
Encyclopedia
Larry Downes is a consultant and speaker on business strategies and information technology. Downes is best known for his book with Chunka Mui, Unleashing the Killer App: Digital Strategies for Market Dominance which focuses on the potential of products and services for dramatically changing business. Unleashing the Killer App sold over 200,000 copies and was named by the Wall Street Journal one of the five most important books on business
and the Internet
ever published. Downes is also the author of The Laws of Disruption: Harnessing the New Forces that Govern Business and Life in the Digital Age.
Downes writes for Forbes
and CNet
about such issues as net neutrality, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission
(FCC), and technology policy generally. On February 15, 2011, he testified in front of Congress against the FCC's net neutrality rules, the so-called "Open Internet" rule, which prohibits blocking of lawful content and bans various forms of discrimination in the handling of specific data packets. He is a critic of over-regulation and an advocate of increased competition. His writings have appeared in various newspapers and magazines around the world, including Forbes
, CNet
, USA Today
, Harvard Business Review
, Wired
, and the Harvard Journal of Law and Technology
.
Downes held a faculty appointment at the Northwestern University School of Law
from 1998-2001 where he taught courses on The Law of Technology. He also held a faculty appointment at the Booth School of Business
from 1999-2000. He was an Adjunct Professor at the University of California, Berkeley
from 2003-2006. From 2006-2010, he was a nonresident Fellow at the Stanford Center for Internet and Society
. He is a Senior Fellow with Tech Freedom, a non-profit, non-partisan, libertarian technology policy think tank.
Downes received his BA from Northwestern University
in 1980 with Honors in English
, History
, and Computer Science
. He received his J.D. with High Honors from the University of Chicago Law School
in 1993. From 1993-1994, he clerked for Judge Richard Posner
in the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
. He was also a consultant with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture
) and McKinsey & Co from 1980-1990 and was raised in Oak Park, Michigan.
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
and the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
ever published. Downes is also the author of The Laws of Disruption: Harnessing the New Forces that Govern Business and Life in the Digital Age.
Downes writes for Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
and CNet
CNET
CNET is a tech media website that publishes news articles, blogs, and podcasts on technology and consumer electronics. Originally founded in 1994 by Halsey Minor and Shelby Bonnie, it was the flagship brand of CNET Networks and became a brand of CBS Interactive through CNET Networks' acquisition...
about such issues as net neutrality, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC), and technology policy generally. On February 15, 2011, he testified in front of Congress against the FCC's net neutrality rules, the so-called "Open Internet" rule, which prohibits blocking of lawful content and bans various forms of discrimination in the handling of specific data packets. He is a critic of over-regulation and an advocate of increased competition. His writings have appeared in various newspapers and magazines around the world, including Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
, CNet
CNET
CNET is a tech media website that publishes news articles, blogs, and podcasts on technology and consumer electronics. Originally founded in 1994 by Halsey Minor and Shelby Bonnie, it was the flagship brand of CNET Networks and became a brand of CBS Interactive through CNET Networks' acquisition...
, USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business Review is a general management magazine published since 1922 by Harvard Business School Publishing, owned by the Harvard Business School. A monthly research-based magazine written for business practitioners, it claims a high ranking business readership among academics, executives,...
, Wired
Wired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
, and the Harvard Journal of Law and Technology
Harvard Journal of Law and Technology
The Harvard Journal of Law & Technology is a semi-annual student publication of Harvard Law School established in 1988. The Journal deliberates on topics involving legal issues centered on technology.-External links:*...
.
Downes held a faculty appointment at the Northwestern University School of Law
Northwestern University School of Law
The Northwestern University School of Law is a private American law school in Chicago, Illinois. The law school was founded in 1859 as the Union College of Law of the Old University of Chicago. The first law school established in Chicago, it became jointly controlled by Northwestern University in...
from 1998-2001 where he taught courses on The Law of Technology. He also held a faculty appointment at the Booth School of Business
Booth School of Business
The University of Chicago Booth School of Business is a graduate business school located in Chicago, Illinois, at the University of Chicago. Formerly known as the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, Chicago Booth is the second oldest business school in the U.S., the first such school...
from 1999-2000. He was an Adjunct Professor at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
from 2003-2006. From 2006-2010, he was a nonresident Fellow at the Stanford Center for Internet and Society
Stanford Center for Internet and Society
The Center for Internet and Society is a public interest technology law and policy program founded in 2000 by Lawrence Lessig at Stanford Law School and a part of Law, Science and Technology Program at Stanford Law School...
. He is a Senior Fellow with Tech Freedom, a non-profit, non-partisan, libertarian technology policy think tank.
Downes received his BA from Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in 1980 with Honors in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, and Computer Science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
. He received his J.D. with High Honors from the University of Chicago Law School
University of Chicago Law School
The University of Chicago Law School was founded in 1902 as the graduate school of law at the University of Chicago and is among the most prestigious and selective law schools in the world. The U.S. News & World Report currently ranks it fifth among U.S...
in 1993. From 1993-1994, he clerked for Judge Richard Posner
Richard Posner
Richard Allen Posner is an American jurist, legal theorist, and economist who is currently a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago and a Senior Lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School...
in the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts:* Central District of Illinois* Northern District of Illinois...
. He was also a consultant with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture
Accenture
Accenture plc is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company headquartered in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. It is the largest consulting firm in the world and is a Fortune Global 500 company. As of September 2011, the company had more than 236,000 employees across...
) and McKinsey & Co from 1980-1990 and was raised in Oak Park, Michigan.