May 19, 2009 at 4:59 pm

Ask Mike: The inventor of the Web

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ask mike avatarHey Guys,

Remember when the Web was dorkily known as “The Information Superhighway”? Thankfully those days are gone, but the sites that made it big during the Web’s first days can still be visited. The other day I checked in with one of my favorite sites: The Internet Archive. There you can enter (just about) any web address, and you’ll get a look at how it has changed over the years.

Yahoo.com is the perfect example of a page that has seen its share of changes. A look at a 1996 version is all but unrecognizable without the logo at the top. But while Yahoo! has been around for a mighty long time (by Internet standards, anyway), it wasn’t the first website. So, what was?

Madsci.org writes that this is one of those questions that’s difficult to answer, because the definition of “website” isn’t exactly clear-cut. Still, many experts credit a CERN site from 1990 as the world’s first honest-to-goodness “website.”

Madsci.org writes that Tim Berners-Lee put together the site for “the development of the first Browser/Editor, called WorldWideWeb.” In fact, many credit Mr. Berners-Lee with “inventing the World Wide Web” in general. His official site (or at least a site claiming to be official) is quite modest by today’s standards. But it does feature photos of the world’s very first Web server. Hard to believe it all started on one little box.

There are a host of sites and articles dedicated to Mr. Berners-Lee. You can read more on his considerable contributions at Wikipedia, W3C, and the BBC. The last link explains that when he came up with the invention, he though it was “just another program.” Little did he know that his program would eventually change the entire world. I sure as heck wouldn’t have a job without it.

Clearly the World Wide Web is an invention we all use. What do you think the next big thing will be on the Web? Will it be a new way of communicating? A new way to share information? Or something totally 100% different that nobody’s ever thought of? Please leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading,

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Mike

Comments (11)

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  1. I was led to believe that the web was original just full of “web pages” which were little more than a paper brochure. “Web sites” were defined as being more dynamic and included multiple web pages.

    Anyway, I just remember that Prodigy was the first full-blown commercial internet access program, but by the time I got online, it was all about AOL and those great $3/hour rates.

    Comment posted on May 19th, 2009 at 8:55 pm by Jordan

  2. WOW, Mike! The WayBackMachine actually has websites that I developed years ago and are long gone. That is crazy amazing.

    Comment posted on May 19th, 2009 at 8:59 pm by Jordan

  3. The Internet has dramatically changed in the past 15 years. Imagine how will it be like in 15 years from now!

    Comment posted on May 20th, 2009 at 2:10 am by Michael Stagkos

  4. I’m actually new beleive it or not to the internet and I’d like to see some of those old websites. I love visiting historical places and things.

    Comment posted on May 20th, 2009 at 4:46 am by denise

  5. thanks

    Comment posted on May 20th, 2009 at 7:03 am by mithun

  6. Wow, the way back machine site is great. It’s amazing how far we’ve come. Great post :)

    Comment posted on May 20th, 2009 at 7:11 am by Lynn

  7. The first that I remember reading about the internet, was in a story from the early 70s by Arthur Clarke called “Imperial Earth” .. where the main character had a thing he called a “minisette” that he plugged into the wall, to recieve information from sources “World Wide”

    The book was written before I was born..Mr Clarke invented a lot of stuff.the next to surface will be “the replicator” from” city and the stars..”

    However the next thing in internet is already here, it’s the cell phone…with the availability of cell phone towers, you can reach anywhere from anywhere…
    just yesterday, Washington Uni. announced two of their people had crossed a cell phone with an ultrasound machine..that the public will be able to buy in 6 months…

    Comment posted on May 20th, 2009 at 9:40 am by Sophie Biggens

  8. Wow!!! I looked at the old version of Yahoo!, and let me tell ya, it was weird!!! LOL

    Comment posted on May 20th, 2009 at 1:37 pm by Mutt

  9. The old Yahoo is blah! The new one ROCKS!

    Comment posted on May 21st, 2009 at 9:17 am by kb

  10. well mike can u help me how to cook?

    Comment posted on June 5th, 2009 at 4:32 pm by wilter

  11. I hated the internet when it looked like that, thank goodness those times are gone. Here’s a good article:

    http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/10/29/kleinrock.internet/index.html

    Comment posted on October 31st, 2009 at 4:08 am by MetalNettle

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