“Our printing press is the internet. Our coffee houses are social networks” is a saying that has been printed on many images. British-American journalist and freedom of information campaigner Heather Brooke said at TEDGlobal 2012 on June 27, 2012:
   
“In our day, we have digitization. That strips all the physical mass out of information, so now it’s almost zero cost to copy and share information. Our printing press is the Internet. Our coffee houses are social networks.”
 
“When I was a kid my social network was called ‘outside‘“ is a related saying.
   
         
Wikipedia: Heather Brooke 
Heather Rose Brooke (born 1970) is a British-American journalist and freedom of information campaigner. Resident since the 1990s in the UK, she helped to expose the 2009 expenses scandal, which culminated in the resignation of House of Commons Speaker Michael Martin and several MPs standing down in 2010 general election.
 
Brooke is Professor of Journalism at City University London’s Department of Journalism. She is the author of Your Right to Know (2006), The Silent State (2010), and The Revolution Will Be Digitised (2011).
         
TED
Heather Brooke
TEDGlobal 2012
My battle to expose government corruption
976,645 views • 18:57•Subtitles in 26 languages
(...)
06:07
In our day, we have digitization. That strips all the physical mass out of information, so now it’s almost zero cost to copy and share information. Our printing press is the Internet. Our coffee houses are social networks.
 
TED → [SRT]
Heather Brooke: My battle to expose government corruption
(...)
In our day, we have digitization. That strips all the physical mass out of information, so now it’s almost zero cost to copy and share information. Our printing press is the Internet. Our coffee houses are social networks.
   
Twitter
Mick Yates
@mickyates
“Our coffee houses are social networks” @NewsBrooke
#TEDGlobal 2012 #radicalopenness
10:15 AM · Jun 28, 2012·Hootsuite
     
YouTube
Heather Brooke: My battle to expose government corruption
TED
Published on Oct 18, 2012
Our leaders need to be held accountable, says journalist Heather Brooke. And she should know: Brooke uncovered the British Parliamentary financial expenses that led to a major political scandal in 2009. She urges us to ask our leaders questions through platforms like Freedom of Information requests—and to finally get some answers.
     
Archive.org
Heather Brooke: My battle to expose government corruption
by TED.com
Publication date 2012-10-18
Usage Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0
Topics TEDTalks, TED, Talks, corruption, culture, journalism, news, politics, TEDGlobal 2012, 2012
Contributor Access Humboldt - Eureka, CA
Language English
Our leaders need to be held accountable, says journalist Heather Brooke. And she should know: Brooke uncovered the British Parliamentary financial expenses that led to a major political scandal in 2009. She urges us to ask our leaders questions through platforms like Freedom of Information requests—and to finally get some answers.
Duration 1137
Event TEDGlobal 2012
Filmed 2012-06-27 17:00:00
 
Twitter
Tomi Ola, PhD
@thetomiola
”...our printing press is the Internet, our coffee houses are social networks” - Heather Brooke ( @newsbrooke) on the Digital Public Sphere
7:23 AM · Oct 27, 2012·Twitter for iPhone
   
Twitter
Inform Print Harrow
@InformPrint1
Our printing press is the Internet. Our coffee houses are social networks - Heather Brooke
6:45 AM · Oct 11, 2013·Twitter Web Client
   
Twitter
The Grind
@TheGrindTally
Our printing press is the Internet.Our coffee houses are social networks.~Heather Brooke.Guatemalan Antigua on tap@ TheGrindCoffeehouse
7:20 AM · Nov 18, 2013·Twitter for Android
 
Facebook
Trustpower
June 13, 2016 ·
“Our printing press is the Internet. Our coffee houses are social networks.” Heather Brooke #powerfulquotes
 
Bustle
11 Coffee Quotes For National Coffee Day 2016, Because The World Wouldn’t Function Without Caffeine
By CHELSEY GRASSO
Sept 29 2016
(...)
10. “Our printing press is the internet. Our coffee houses are social networks.” — Heather Brooke
   
Google Books
The People Vs. Democracy:
Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to Save It
By Yascha Mounk
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
2018
Pg. 139:
Brooke makes the same point even more concisely.  “Our printing press,” she wrote, “is the Internet. Our coffee houses are social networks.”