Yesterday was a very important birthday. 25 years ago on August 23rd, the World Wide Web was introduced to the masses. Designed by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the World Wide Web became royalty-free forever in 1993 when CERN declared that no individual should be denied access to the wonders of this new technology.
The page that started it all
The very first web page, which users can still view if they wanted to, existed for the purpose of telling users what the web is about and how it was built. It’s important to understand that the Internet pre-dates the WWW by over 30 years, as it was first introduced by the US in the 1960’s for military defense purposes. The WWW, on the other hand, was introduced as a public space for people to share thoughts and ideas and transfer and store data.
To keep things organized, Berners-Lee developed the world’s first browser. These days, billions of people tap into browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer to find information. Browsers were needed in order to help keep information organized.
How far the world wide web has come
Since it’s introduction in the 1990’s and increasing popularity through the early 2000’s, many companies have sprung up in hopes of harnessing user information as a way to keep improving the online experience. Search engines such as Google and Bing have created specific algorithms to collect data about user behavior. People can now buy and sell information, products and services to others though eCommerce.
Many believe that access to the Internet and the World Wide Web should be a human right, though unfortunately for millions of people around the world this is not yet a possibility. Just like Sir Berners-Lee, today’s CEOs such as Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg strive to make access to the Internet a reality – though it is infrastructure that hinders the expansion. For those involved in Search Engine Optimization, we owe our entire industry to Sir Tim Berners-Lee!