Events in Egypt have demonstrated that the human race has evolved some Internet protocols of our own.

The Internet protocols route around damage. Without the Internet, that routing spills over onto landline phones and other communications media. As soon as the shutdown began, people from all over the world instinctively conjured up alternative ways for people to get their messages posted online.

All these alternative routes to the Internet popped up in less than five days. The longer the shutdown dragged on, the more new ways to connect went online. It's now clear that any sustained Internet shutdown could be circumvented no matter what.