The Web is a Social Creation
Tim Berners-Lee, in Weaving the Web:
“The web is more a social creation than a technical one. I designed it for a social effect—to help people work together—and not as a technical toy. The ultimate goal of the Web is to support and improve our weblike existence in the world. We clump into families, associations, and companies. We develop trust across the miles and distrust around the corner. What we believe, endorse, agree with, and depend on is representable and, increasingly, represented on the Web. We all have to ensure that the society we build with the Web is of the sort we intend.”
This touches on several important issues:
- Technology is an enabler, not the end goal
- The Web is built to augment our social behavior, not define it
- We can represent our social lives online, even ambiguous things like our beliefs
- We have a responsibility to make the Web a good place to be
Every time I read Tim’s words, I am reinvigorated and am glad to be part of this thing they call the Web.
Tim Berners-Lee, in Weaving the Web:
“The web is more a social creation than a technical one. I designed it for a social effect—to help people work together—and not as a technical toy. The ultimate goal of the Web is to support and improve our weblike existence in the world. We clump into families, associations, and companies. We develop trust across the miles and distrust around the corner. What we believe, endorse, agree with, and depend on is representable and, increasingly, represented on the Web. We all have to ensure that the society we build with the Web is of the sort we intend.”
This touches on several important issues:
- Technology is an enabler, not the end goal
- The Web is built to augment our social behavior, not define it
- We can represent our social lives online, even ambiguous things like our beliefs
- We have a responsibility to make the Web a good place to be
Every time I read Tim’s words, I am reinvigorated and am glad to be part of this thing they call the Web.
