Western Union has the skills and experience that uniquely qualify if for such a role; the public need for such a new utility is growing at a rapid rate; the field is already large and the potential tremendous - probably at least as large as any other national utility that exists today.

—From a memo written in 19_65_ outlining Western Union’s role as an “information utility company”. The whole thing is a fascinating read, both for its prescience and limited view of data as something scarce, something to be metered. Imagine if the internet worked like your power or water line. Imagine if Western Union had become Google. [via Nicholas Carr]