Internet pioneer Barlow died

san francisco - The American John Perry Barlow, who played an important role in the development of the internet, has passed away. He died on Wednesday at the age of 70 in his sleep, reported the Electronic Frontier Foundation. That organization, founded by Barlow, is committed to freedom online. Occasionally Barlow also wrote song lyrics for the band of a childhood friend: The Grateful Dead.

Barlow first used the word 'cyberspace' to describe the internet community. He called it a 'silent world where every conversation is typed. To participate, people distance themselves from their bodies and their place and they only consist of words. You see what your neighbors say, but not what they and their environment look like. It exists in the vast region of electrons, microwaves, magnetic fields, light pulses and thoughts. '

In 1996 Barlow wrote a 'declaration of independence of the cyberspace' in which he called on governments not to interfere with the internet. 'On behalf of the future I ask you from the past to leave us alone. You are not welcome with us. You have no power where we gather, 'he wrote.

Barlow gave a guest lecture in 1996 in a primary school class in Illinois. One of the children in the class was the nine-year-old Aaron Swartz, who became so inspired after the speech that he turned to technology. As a 14-year-old he helped develop the RSS format. Later he helped set up the Reddit site.