Web "creator" Sir Tim Berners-Lee has called on governments, scientists and businesses to work to ensure the Web remains true to its original purpose... "The development of the Web will have major social, economic and political implications for our future," said Sir Tim. "At its core must be a commitment to maintain the principles of openness as a platform for the sharing of information," he added.

Tim Berners-Lee would like to see the Web becoming a repository of "partly formed ideas" that could eventually assist in solving some of humanity's larger problems, by forming a "trail of thinking", that people could progressively contribute thoughts to until, through collective thinking, a solution emerges. It is an idea he refers to as "creative connectivity". "Now just suppose, given that we have those huge problems out there to solve in ... Read full entry

While browsing Vanity Fair earlier, I spotted this fascinating article on the history of the web, from the time of its inception in 1958, interestingly part of the US response to the launch of Soviet satellite Sputnik, right on through to user-generated content and social networks. Needless to say a lot ground is covered, taking in the browser wars, the advent of Google, and the rise of the iPod ... Read full entry

Google could be superseded, says web inventor Tim Berners-Lee talks about the rise of the Semantic web and the next phase of the web's development, which apparently doesn't leave much room for current search engine technology. "Using the semantic web, you can build applications that are much more powerful than anything on the regular web," Mr Berners-Lee said. "Imagine if two completely separate things - your bank statements and your calendar ... Read full entry

Thanks, Gutenberg - but we're too pressed for time to read The rise of print "technology" had far more profound consequences than many of us would think. At the time Gutenberg invented the print press in the 15th century, there was no easy way of recording and sharing ideas and information on a mass basis. Once a method of producing large quantities of print material became available, social and intellectual change, ... Read full entry