Twenty-five years ago today, I filed the proposal for what was to become the World Wide Web.
My boss dubbed it ‘vague but exciting’. Luckily, he thought enough of the idea to allow me to quietly work on it on the side.
In the following quarter-century, the Web has changed the world in ways that I never could have imagined. There have been many exciting advances. It has generated billions of dollars in economic growth, turned data into the gold of the 21st century, unleashed innovation in education and healthcare, whittled away geographic and social boundaries, revolutionised the media, and forced a reinvention of politics in many countries by enabling constant two-way dialogue between the rulers and the ruled.
There are a few principles which allowed the web, as a platform, to support such growth. By design, the Web is universal, royalty-free, open and decentralised. Thousands of people worked together to build the early Web in an amazing, non-national spirit of collaboration; tens of thousands more invented the applications and services that make it so useful to us today, and there is still room for each one of us to create new things on and through the Web.  This is for everyone.
Today, and throughout this year, we should celebrate the Web’s first 25 years. But though the mood is upbeat, we also know we are not done. We have much to do for the Web to reach its full potential. We must continue to defend its core principles and tackle some key challenges. To name just three:
- How do we connect the nearly two-thirds of the planet who can’t yet access the Web?
- Who has the right to collect and use our personal data, for what purpose and under what rules?
- How do we create a high-performance open architecture that will run on any device, rather than fall back into proprietary alternatives?
There are no easy answers to these, and many other questions. Remember though that the Web was built by all of us, and so we all can, and should, play a role in defining its future.
The Latest on: Internet Freedom
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via Google News
The Latest on: Internet Freedom
- Internet supports Pinks as she slams coverage of Beyonce and Taylor Swift's tours at cost of other singerson May 11, 2024 at 4:48 am
L OS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Pink is reportedly not happy with the over-the-top coverage of Beyoncé and Taylor Swift's music tours but not allegedly getting any footage. As per reports, the 44-year-old ...
- Many governments worldwide failing to protect press freedomon May 10, 2024 at 2:30 pm
As Reporters Without Borders' World Press Freedom Index details declines across continents, the Pulitzer Prizes highlights the need for great reporting.
- Competing Visions for the Future of the Internet: China’s Strategy to Control the Highways of Connectivityon May 10, 2024 at 12:28 pm
China’s Strategy to Control the World’s Data Super-Highways Part 3: How the U.S. and its Partners can Keep the World’s Data Super-Highways Open, Free, Reliable, and Secure. As outlined in the first ...
- 'Nothing wrong with that': Fans hail Kendall Jenner's decision to not rush into starting family as she embraces 'kidless freedomon May 10, 2024 at 1:52 am
'Nothing wrong with that': Fans hail Kendall Jenner's decision to not rush into starting family as she embraces 'kidless freedom LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Kendall Jenner is in no rush to start a family ...
- US Calls For Hong Kong Assurances On Internet Freedomon May 9, 2024 at 2:13 pm
Hong Kong should provide assurances that it will preserve internet freedom if it wants to remain a major economic hub, the top US diplomat in the city said Thursday.
- Looking for cheap TV and internet? Check out these new Freedom Mobile planson May 8, 2024 at 4:25 pm
Whatever your internet speed needs are, Freedom Mobile plans offer a variety of options for different budgets. Plans include a modem and eero 6 WiFi router rental, which uses the power of WiFi 6 to ...
- Rudy Giuliani bought a ‘teaching documentary’ on how to obtain ‘freedom’ from adult content, bankruptcy records showon May 8, 2024 at 10:39 am
Early last year, his former assistant Noelle Dunphy sued Giuliani for unpaid wages and persistent, ongoing sexual abuse and harassment. As part of her case, Dunphy included certified audio transcripts ...
- A Quick, Telling Little Internet Searchon May 6, 2024 at 9:01 pm
Derek Hunter is the host of a free daily podcast ( subscribe!) and author of the book, Outrage, INC., which exposes how liberals use fear and hatred to manipulate the masses, and host of the weekly “ ...
- Freedom Mobile Internet and TV with Promo Pricing Lands May 7 [Update]on May 6, 2024 at 7:01 pm
Quebecor’s Freedom Mobile is set to reintroduce its home internet services and launch a new customizable TV option, aiming to provide a comprehensive and affordable entertainment package to its ...
- Jack Dorsey leaves board of fledgling social network Bluesky, calls Elon Musk’s X ‘freedom technology’on May 6, 2024 at 5:52 am
Jack Dorsey resigned from the board of his social networking startup, Bluesky — even as he gave an impromptu endorsement Elon Musk’s X, calling it “freedom technology”.
via Bing News