Technology that Changed History: World Wide Web

 

The World Wide Web

https://www.britannica.com/topic/World-Wide-Web 

The World Wide Web is a complex system that billions of people are exposed to around the world, yet they are unaware of the coming of the system and the distinction between the Internet and the World Wide Web. The World Wide Web was created by Tim Berners-Lee and his colleagues at the organization, CERN. This project was unlike any other system that was created during this time because they found a way to link documents together using hypertext links and hyper markup language. This not only changed the way businesses and scientist operated, but also brought in the general public which then catapulted this new invention.

The major problem that existing systems had was that they were hard to share data with others and they were extremely hard to keep organized with other systems. In 1980, CERN started the project to solve this solution and their first project was called ENQUIRE. This system included Hypertext Links, however, this system was not able to upload pictures, therefore, they had to go back to the drawing board. 

The ENQUIRE project evolved into the WWW and it was proposed in 1989. The WWW was successful because it could be used on any computer, sharing data was available, and users could upload images. It was much more accessible and easier all the documents were linked together which is where Berners-Lee came up with the idea of "a web of information." 

Something to keep in mind as our knowledge about the web progresses is that the WWW and the internet are not interchangeable. The internet already existed as other systems were being used for professional purposes. We use the internet to access the WWW, and now we used the internet more than just professional purposes because of the WWW.

Since this system has been used for nearly 30 years now, will there be another system soon? Or is Berners-Lee going to update and improve the World Wide Web. The New York Times published an article in 2019 that read, "I invented the World Wide Web. Here's How We Can Fix It." The article mentions Berners-Lee's background and passion for the technological world. His goal was create a system that brings good service to humanity. In today's society, the web is apart of our lives more than most people imagined. Due to the ever-growing information on the web, the challenge we face today is regulating the power and control that the government and major companies hold over the general public. Also, how will we slow the spread of misinformation? These issues are fairly new and will take years to get under control. Until then, Berners-Lee is tackling these issuing that are part of the World Wide Web Foundation.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/24/opinion/world-wide-web.html

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2020/jun/22/history-world-wide-web/