In not so many words, Hakim Bey's essay, "The Net and the Web," breaks down the Internet from the broad array of users to a tiny group of hackers. The Net consists of different components and different users. Inside the Net, there is a group called the Web; this group breaks down even further into a sub-group called the counter-Net. The counter-Net is a term Bey uses to describe hackers, or data-pirates, but the Web is a much broader term that describes the general exchange of information on the Net. This introduction provides the background for Bey's real argument, which is established in his book TAZ: The Temporary Autonomous Zone, Ontological Anarchy, Poetic Terrorism.

As the title of the book suggests, Bey himself can be described as an anarchist. The TAZs that Bey discusses are places that exist in and of themselves. The creations of TAZs are greatly enhanced by users of the Net and especially the counter-Net. Bey asserts, "As a Cyberpunk fan I can't help but envision 'reality-hacking' playing a major role in the creation of TAZs" (394). Bey himself tends to lean towards piracy on the Net as a way of creating a TAZ. Put simply, TAZs are places that he and other users create in a mobile way, moving from place to place, as a way of governing an underground network of serious computer users, and in doing so the Internet becomes the key component for sharing information, maximizing the use the Net.

Bey says, "The TAZ is 'utopian' in the sense that it envisions an intensification of everyday life, but it cannot be utopian in the actual meaning of the word 'nowhere,' [for] the TAZ is somewhere" (395). Bey strongly defends the use of TAZs as an existing, self-governing way of life, and a way to use the Net for all it is worth. In his conclusion Bey states, "The TAZ is interested in results, successful raids on consensus reality, breakthroughs into more intense and more abundant life" (398). Although the Net, the Web, and the counter-Net are useful tools in creating the TAZ for Bey, he does not limit his goals to the computer. The TAZs instead play a much larger role in deciphering information in a non-hierarchic based theory, which is more important to Bey. However, right now the Net is the easiest way to set up these groups and maintain their existence.

In a search to find out who Hakim Bey is and to better understand his theories of the counter-Net and TAZs, I evaluated two websites for more information. To help the reader better understand, let me say that Bey is a major advocate of free-will thinking. Bey openly scorns the media and anything written through traditional journalism. Instead, he promotes TAZs as a better medium for communicative discourse. Bey might be radical in his thinking, but he does promote an ideology consistent enough to maintain some sort of validity. Bey challenges people to think on their own without buying into popular culture, and he openly supports chaos theory, which rejects any form of universal control of the Net. Bey is a promoter of data-piracy and reality hacking, not for the sole purpose of advocating anarchy, but rather as a means of sharing information so that all people, not just the elite, have access to information and can develop the ability to think for themselves and communicate freely.

Bey, Hakim. "The Net and the Web." CyberReader. 2nd ed. Ed. Victor J . Vitanza. Needham Heights, MA: Ally & Bacon, 1999. 393-399.

<http://www.dromo.com/fusionanomaly/hakimbey.html>.

<http://www.hermetic.com/bey/taz_cont.html>.