The key to all this incredible revolution happening is that the protocols are common. When we have all decided what is the next cool thing to do, we have to agree on a common way of doing it. We have a forum where all of the major players come together … We have a preliminary draft for a standard way of doing that so you’ll be able to mix different source objects within an HTML document … At the end of the day the importance is that it is a World Wide Web. When you come to a point where you are going through the Web, and it says, “I’m sorry, you cannot read this information unless you are using particular software,” then the World Wide Web is no longer worldwide. Everybody loses.
Predictor: Berners-Lee, Tim
Prediction, in context:Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the World Wide Web in 1989 as a global information sharing initiative for the Internet spoke with Computer Reseller News Industry Editor Steven Burke and Senior Editor Diana Hwang at the World Wide Web conference in Boston. In response to the question, ÒWhat are you doing now?Ó Berners-Lee replies: ”Right now I am directing the W3 Consortium coordinating body. The key to all this incredible revolution happening is that the protocols are common. When we have all decided what is the next cool thing to do, we have to agree on a common way of doing it. We have a forum where all of the major players come together. For example, Microsoft [Corp.], Netscape [Communications Corp.], Sun [Microsystems Inc.] and Spyglass [Inc.] all did their own different formats for embedding objects within HTML. We have a preliminary draft for a standard way of doing that so you’ll be able to mix different source objects within an HTML document … At the end of the day the importance is that it is a World Wide Web. When you come to a point where you are going through the Web, and it says, ‘I’m sorry, you cannot read this information unless you are using particular software,’ then the World Wide Web is no longer worldwide. Everybody loses.”
Biography:Tim Berners-Lee of CERN first released his revolutionary World-Wide Web for initial use in 1991 and with it shared his invention HTML (hypertext mark-up language). He later served as director of W3 Consortium, an open forum of companies and organizations whose goal was to find ways to help the Web reach its full potential. (Pioneer/Originator.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Information Infrastructure
Subtopic: Protocols
Name of publication: Computer Reseller News
Title, headline, chapter name: Web Inventor Berners-Lee Speaks Out on Internet Future
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page 227
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne