The cool innovations in both mobile and Internet platforms at this point is exciting, especially given the cell phone has been one of the fastest adopted technologies thus far. So it is particularly interesting to contemplate the implications of their merger and address issues of how standards can guide its usage and open nature.
From the early days of the networked hypertext system (see 1989) to a globally interconnected space which can be accessed from any computer by anyone anywhere, we have come a long way. Historically, the trajectory of the Internet as it intertwines with its early network emergence among universities in the U.S. along with a similar coupling at CERN enabled the form and shape of the contemporary WWW (World Wide Web).
The open architecture premise of the Internet (whereby anyone could design it for use for anything) made such innovation possible in the first case. It is open in content and hardware–allowing links between data from any social, public, academic, industrial, or scientific sphere to be clearly and transparently shared.
Besides being open platform, the other important characteristic of the WWW is that it is universal. This premise extends to independence from hardware device and operating systems and today includes the mobile platform.
In reading Berners-Lee’s piece, share your thoughts on the following as a response to this post:
- How does the net neutrality debate concern those who worry about the open network architecture of the WWW?
- How does TCP/IP standard promote/constrain it?
- How do some Web 2.0 community Web sites support your argument…
- Social networks?
- What are Berner-Lee’s ceiling technologies?
- What is the MWI and how does it address three challenges facing us today?
Communication and Technology 