Jay G.’s weblog

Realising the Full Potential of the Web

The world’s most significant structures like the Panama Canal were built based on clearly articulated visions and architectural plans of great thinkers and experts, and there is no exception for the Web, which is one of the world’s greatest inventions.^[1] Since early 1980’s, when Tim Berners-Lee started to plan and design the Web, there has been a definite aim and goal. It is to create a space in which all the information stored on computers everywhere can be linked.

Suppose all the information stored on computers everywhere were linked, I thought. Suppose I could program my computer to create a space in which anything could be linked to anything.^[2]

For a long time, actually many people have tried to transform information to knowledge through technical innovation, like the desire to fly.^[3] Now we finally have the space called “Web”.

It’s been almost 17 years since the Web became known in 1991.^[4] We need a lot more days to achieve what we’ve dreamed of, but we can see many changes. I guess when we have the “Web” that Tim Berners-Lee and other pioneers dreamed of is not that far from now.

Looking at the future of the Web that Tim Berners-Lee thought of in 1997, it looks like everything has progressed according to the plan. Since the beginning, we’ve wanted to make the Web a space in which anything can be linked to anything else, anyone can make a link, and a space we build together. Now we’re close to that dream in the name of “Web 2.0″. Not only documents but data are now roaming around the Web. The problem of trust is becoming a more important issue. More and more devices are being connected to the Web in the name of ubiquitous or mobile. Contrary to W3C’s wish, the Web could possibly be approaching to its full potential by itself. After all, the goal of the Web “Leading the Web to Its Full Potential” will be achieved by the people using it.

From now on, I’ll try to talk about the Web and its way toward its full potential on this blog. Since I haven’t wrote a post for a long time, it doesn’t seem so easy to restart blogging. But, I’ll try to keep this blog up. I hope this blog will go on for a long time and be worth reading. Stay tuned!

1. J. Greenberg et al., “Metadata: A Fundamental Component of the Semantic Web,” Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, April/May 2003, pp.16-18. [↩]
2. T. Berners-Lee, Weaving the Web, HarperBusiness, 2000. [↩]
3. V. Bush, “As We May Think,” Atlantic, July 1945. [↩]
4. T. Berners-Lee, “World Wide Web: Summary,” alt.hypertext, August 1991. [↩]