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The term Network Society was coined by Jan van Dijk in his Dutch book 'De Netwerkmaatschappij' (1991) -translation: 'The Network Society' (1999, 2006)- and by Manuel Castells in the first part of his trilogy 'The Information Age' (1996). In 1978 James Martin used the related term 'The Wired Society' indicating a society that is connected by mass- and telecommunication networks.

Van Dijk defines the network society as a society in which a combination of social and media networks shapes its prime mode of organization and most important structures at all levels (individual, organizational and societal). He compares this type of society to a mass society that is shaped by groups, organizations and communities ('masses')organized in physical co-presence. According to Castells networks constitute the new social morphology of our societies. The diffusion of a networking logic substantially modifies the operation and outcomes in processes of production, experience, power, and culture. For Castells networks have become the basic units of modern society. Van Dijk does not go that far: for him these units still are individuals, groups, organizations and communities, be it increasingly linked by networks.

The network society goes further than the information society that is often proclaimed. Castells argues that it is not purely the technology that defines modern societies, but also cultural, economical and political factors that make the network society. For van Dijk information forms the substance of contemporary society, while networks shape the organizational forms and (infra)structures of this society.

The Space of Flows plays a central role in Castells' vision of the Network society. It is a network of communications, defined by hubs where these networks crisscross. Élites in cities are not attached to a particular locality but to the space of flows.

Castells puts great importance on the networks and argues that the real power is to be found within the networks rather than confined in global cities. This contrasts with other theorists who rank cities hierarchally.

• Nets Webs and the Information Infrastructure