Wednesday 12th Homestudy

Chairman Markey, Ranking Member Upton, and Members of the Committee. It is my honor to appear before you today to discuss the future of the World Wide Web. Though I was privileged to lead the effort that gave rise to the Web in the mid-1990s, it has passed the point of being something designed by a single person or even a single organization. It has become a public resource upon which many individuals, communities, companies and governments depend.
It is a medium that has been created and the Internet is a far more speech-enhancing medium than print, the village green, or the mails.

The Internet may fairly be regarded as a never-ending worldwide conversation.

The success of the World Wide Web has depended on three critical factors: 1) unlimited links from any part of the Web to any other; 2) open technical standards and 3) separation of network layers.

All who use the Web to publish or access information take it for granted that any Web page on the planet will be accessible to anyone who has an Internet connection.

The Web has grown because it's easy to write a Web page and easy to link to other pages. Adding a Web page requires no coordination with any central authority, and has an extremely low, often zero, additional cost.

The Web has not only been a venue for the free exchange of ideas, but also it has been a platform for the creation of a wide and unanticipated variety of new services.

The Web will get better and better at helping us to manage, integrate, and analyze data. Web applications will become a more and more ubiquitous throughout our human environment, with walls, automobile dashboards, refrigerator doors all serving as displays giving us a window onto the Web.

In the future, the Web will seem like it's everywhere, not just on our desktop or mobile device. LCD technology becomes cheaper, walls of rooms, and even walls of buildings, will become display surfaces for information from the Web.

It will shape the nature of the public spaces we work, shop, do politics, and socialize in.

The Web is Not Complete

Progress in the evolution of the Web to date has been quite gratifying but the Web is by no means finished.

The Web, and everything which happens on it, rest on two things: technological protocols, and social conventions. The technological protocols, like HTTP and HTML, determine how computers interact. Social conventions, such as the incentive to make links to valuable resources, or the rules of engagement in a social networking web site.

We have only scratched the surface of what could be realized with deeper scientific investigation into its design, operation and impact on society.

So how do we plan for a better future, better for society?

We ensure that that both technological protocols and social conventions respect basic values. That Web remains a universal platform: independent of any specific hardware device, software platform, language, culture, or disability. That the Web does not become controlled by a single company -- or a single country.

My response:

This article highlights key points and issues regarding the web and its effect upon humanity and the way in which we shape our lives around the internet and in turn how much the web controls our lives. Whilst Chairman Markey informs us of all the ways the web has enriched our lives and made life altogether an easier task, with unlimited information at our disposal he stresses that the web is not yet completed and will continue to grow and expand. He is keen to point out the flaws of the web and the control it now has over society who depend greatly upon it.

Here, have some little men holding up giant W's. \o/ \o/