Snapshots in History: March 12: Remembering the World Wide Web

On March 12 and beyond, take a moment to celebrate the birth of the World Wide Web (WWW) on March 12, 1989. In 2015, the World Wide Web continues to evolve, whether it is Google’s improvements to safe browsing on its Google Chrome browser, or one hears more and more about the Internet of Things. In 2014, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, submitted a guest blog post to the Google Official Blog entitled “On the 25th anniversary of the web, let’s keep it free and open”. Sir Tim reminded readers that he was working at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, when he submitted a proposal that became the basis for what one knows today as the World Wide Web. Berners-Lee used existing technologies such as the Internet and hypertext to create WWW. CERN agreed that the developed WWW technology would be made available to all freely without the need to pay royalties. People outside of CERN began to participate on WWW in 1991. Berners-Lee emphasized that the intent of the World Wide Web and the Internet was to be “non-hierarchical, decentralized and radically open” to encourage participation, regardless of language, device, and software used. From that point onward, many more people became involved in the construction of the World Wide Web and even more people have joined in as online participants (some 40% of the world’s population by the end of 2013, according to the International Telecommunication Union) and contributed to trillions of dollars in economic activity.

While the anniversary of the World Wide Web deserves acknowledgement and celebration, Sir Tim Berners-Lee posed some sobering questions that seek to be answered such as: What can be done to get the other 60% of the world’s population online to the World Wide Web in a timely fashion? What can be done to ensure that the WWW is supportive of all languages and cultures? Can consensus be furnished around open standards to support the burgeoning Internet of Things? Will restrictions be placed upon the “open web” and be tolerated? Or, will the ability to say, discover, and create be left unrestricted? How can'those spying on the Internet be made publicly accountable within a system of checks and balances?

In an exclusive to The Guardian, Tim Berners-Lee is advocating for a digital bill of rights (dubbed an online Magna Carta) in each country to protect the independence of the World Wide Web from corporate and government influence and foster net neutrality. Berners-Lee’s digital bill of rights proposal has become part of the WebWeWant initiative urging “people around the world to stand up for their right to a free, open and truly global Internet.” He is supportive of the principles of privacy, free speech, and responsible anonymity being considered within the digital bill of rights framework. Tim Berners-Lee has been critical of the activities of American and British espionage networks in light of Edward Snowden’s revelations involving the National Security Agency in the United States.

For information on those predictions about the World Wide Web that did not come to pass, consider reading the following articles:

Chloe Albanesius, “5 Terrible Early Web Predictions”, PCMag.com, March 12, 2014.

James O’Toole, “5 predictions for the Web that were WAY off”, CNN.com (Money), March 11, 2014.

Looking to the future? Consider the following article:

Carina Kolodny, “Here’s What The Internet Could Look Like in 2025”, Huffington Post (Technology), March 11, 2014.

Visit Nominet’s Story of the Web website to follow the timeline leading to the World Wide Web. Visit the Web at 25 website to view greetings from users of the World Wide Web the world over.

Consider the following titles for borrowing from Toronto Public Library collections:

Books: