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Re-reading Tom Standage's excellent book, "The Victorian Internet," after quite a few years. One detail jumped out: as telegraph infrastructure exploded around the world in the late 1800s, it created a wave of related jobs for folks without technical expertise in telegraphy proper.

Armies of messenger boys, for example, handled last-mile delivery for the rising tide of telegrams that businesses in major cities generated. Many of the next generation of entrepreneur got their start there…