#4.0 It's a Webolution

Having been born in the late nineties I have barely lived a day in my life where sophisticated internet systems have not existed. I remember clearly my first interaction with the internet at around the age of 5 as my dad showed me his new work laptop. I remember him telling me that I could type whatever I wanted into the rectangular box and I would instantly get back images and stories about what I had searched. Being the tomboy I am, I recall asking him not to search for fairies or kittens, but Buzz Lightyear; my idol at the time. The now iconic whir of dial up internet is something that heralded infinite possibilities for me as a child. The internet became a permanent fixture in my development as a child to a young adult, and it was symbolic of limitless potential and all of the Buzz Lightyear videos I could get my hands on. In recognising the far-reaching effects the internet has had in just the last decade alone it is important to understand just where it all began and how it has worked to become the most historically significant invention of our time.

It all began in 1991 when computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee invented the first functioning web browser called the WorldWideWeb (Nexus) browser (Press, 2015). It was established as the most common means of accessing data online in the form of websites and hyperlinks. Whilst many had been toying with the concept of a service that would allow for technological connection without borders, Berners-Lee's form of the Web popularised the Internet amongst the general public and served as one of the most crucial advancements that would foster the development of networked communication that today is recognisable as the internet. Previously, the first ARPAnet link had been established between the University of California, Los Angeles and SRI (a research facility in California) as early as 1969, with system failures not allowing the entirety of the interaction to transpire (Press, 2015). These initial developments (internet) acted as network infrastructure and the latest development (web) as software infrastructure that was then layered over the top by Berners-Lee to create a more stable distributed hypertext system.

These developments allowed for the introduction of many new software applications that would allow users to retrieve, send and present data on the World Wide Web. As companies began taking advantage of the new technologies, browsers such as Internet Explorer, JavaScript, Mozilla Firefox, Safari and Google Chrome rose to prominence and quickly overtook the original web browsers (Press, 2015). Web 2.0 fittingly began to rise as it capitalised on the innovative, shifting nature of these technologies. Defined by a shift in interaction from user and website to user to user, Web 2.0 is characterised by the changing role user synergy plays on the internet. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat all are symbolic of a new type of user interaction that is increasingly far-reaching and more sophisticated than that in which was seen in the early years of the internet (Cormode and Krishnamurthy, 2017). This separation between the two webs is made more distinct with the use of scripting and site rendering that allows for high levels of interaction between users. Ultimately we are going to see the envelope pushed further and further from what we previously ever imagined to be possible. If only five year old me could see the virtual reality Buzz Lightyear walking around my living room now.

REFERENCES:

Cormode, G. and Krishnamurthy, B. (2017). Key differences between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. First Monday, 13(6), p.1.

Press, G. (2015). A Very Short History Of The Internet And The Web. [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/gilpress/2015/01/02/a-very-short-history-of-the-internet-and-the-web-2/#468a75737a4e [Accessed 1 Aug. 2017].