"Cloud"
Is really a return to the old days where everybody operated off a single mainframe
computer system. It is just the I/O access and terminals are different.
That is the Occam's razor explanation.
My education is Computer science, not software engineering,
so I see computers from a more theoretical, mathematical point of view.
Although I worked as a software and electronics engineer for years.
This whole social media problem isn't the fault of the machine or the data
it contains, it is a failure of society to mature and use a tool safely.
It is like giving a locked and loaded M-4 rifle to a three year old and expecting
no problems.
These data processing systems are powerful tools and they will only get better!
This is not a Facebook or Twitter problem( neither of which I use BTW) this
is a people problem. That is where the solution lies.
I don't know what the solution is, but I know ignorance,
is our biggest enemy.
Exactly.
Every Computer professional (now labeled "IT") who "grew up" in the age of IBM mainframes and remote terminals -- many using telephone modems -- understands that "the cloud" is not new. It's only new to people in their 20's who think everything they know began in their lifetime, particularly technology.
Cloud Computing was invented in the early 1960s by J.C.R Licklider (Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider),
an American Psychologist and Computer Scientist. During his network research work on ARPANet
(Advanced Research Project Agency Network), trying to connect people and data all around the world,
gave an introduction to Cloud Computing technique which we all know today. Born on March 11th,
1915 in St. Louis, Missouri, US, J.C.R Licklider pursued his initial studies from Washington University
in 1937 and received a BA Degree with three specializations including physics, maths, psychology.
Later in the year 1938, Licklider completed his MA in psychology and received his Ph.D. from the
University of Rochester in the year 1942. His interest in Information Technology and looking at his
years of service in different areas and achievements, made his appointed as Head of IPTO at ARPA
(US Department of Defense Advanced Research Project Agency) in the Year 1962. His aim led to
ARPANet, a forerunner of today’s Internet.
The popularity of the term "The Cloud" gained momentum as Internet "experts" briefed their system
designs having a large cloud-looking drawing to represent all the various data and application stores
available globally using the Internet and private VPN connections.
I actually had a ARPANET account in 1990-1992 using MILNET access. Not many resources available for anyone who didn't already have access to a facility or server. Mostly used it to connect between my database servers in Virginia and those in Mississippi for a specific project.
Of course, when you're running at 300-1200 baud, you really don't WANT access to very much information!

I also used the network to connect between my laptop in S. Korea and the Hickam AFB workstation I set up to pass code changes and emails. This was long before any email networks existed without paying for a CompuServe or America Online (AOL) subscription. Even so, you could only email to subscribers on the same network service.
Once the Internet became the World Wide Web (not synonyms), and TCP/IP became the standard network protocol, the global availability of resources grew exponentially.
IT "experts" in their 20s are able to learn what is in place today, but they missed out on what came before -- which helps us understand not only how, but why, something works.