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John Perry Barlow
John Perry Barlow
00:57

John Perry Barlow

Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)

Mill Valley, CA USA

"If you think of getting lost as a positive thing, you open yourself up to possibilities you wouldn't have otherwise considered"

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John Perry's work combines: Non-Profit Organizations, Technology, and Upholding a Cause and Belief

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Day In The Life

Co-founder

I write, speak, and consult on a broad variety of subjects, particularly digital economy.

Skills & Education

Here's the path I took:

  • High School

  • Bachelor's Degree

    Religion/Religious Studies

    Wesleyan University

Life & Career Milestones

My path in life has been direct

  • 1.

    Studied comparative religion at Wesleyan University, then spent two years wandering around India.

  • 2.

    After college, he spent time living on his family's ranch and writing songs for the Grateful Dead.

  • 3.

    Was always fascinated by what would replace the solitary ranch lifestyle that was dying out.

  • 4.

    In the '80s, someone told him to check out a Grateful Dead message board; this was his first encounter with the Internet, still in its early stages.

  • 5.

    He realized the Internet was going to become "the nervous system" of the collective human race, it became one of his interests.

  • 6.

    Harper's Bazaar started a forum discussing the issues of personal privacy and freedom of expression in the age of the Web.

  • 7.

    In 1990, he took those ideas and started EFF, which protects free speech online, limits government access to personal data.

  • 8.

    Stresses that everyone feels confused about what they want to do with their lives; you can take comfort in knowing your colleagues are just as scared as you are.