Tim Berners-Lee, founder of the World Wide Web, describes its development from the first ideas to the present in his book.
A Victorian handbook in which you could look up everything about household and everyday life, and the coffee counter at CERN in Switzerland, where paths cross and people exchange ideas: they were the inspiration for the place where we obtain information and connect it with one another – and which is indispensable today.
Berners-Lee talks about his life just as lightly as he explains technical details and principles that should make computer geeks nostalgic. But what lies behind abbreviations such as URL, HTTPS or the famous “error message 404”, the struggle for standards, networking with people and institutions and all the steps on this long journey only make up part of the book.
Tim Berners-Lee’s plan was and is a network that is open to everyone and characterized by humanity. The web does not belong to the tech companies, it is not intended for data theft, manipulation, agitation or surveillance, but as an open platform for everyone. The British computer scientist was able to express this vision at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games with the illuminated sign “This is for everyone” and it still guides his actions today.
His view of what became of his idea and what was added is differentiated. He sees the opportunities as well as the risks. Neither horror scenarios nor glorification are his thing. His ideas are still visionary, such as a secure “wallet” for your own data and a universal “fact check button” on websites. Alternatives to unhealthy, destructive places on the internet have long been available. But the web will probably always remain unfinished. And with AI, developments are taking a new turn. Here too, argues Tim Berners-Lee, we must do this “for everyone“ keep the focus on: participation by everyone in the interests of everyone – just like in the coffee kitchen: talking, listening, networking. It’s nice that you can now read about it in an old-fashioned way in a book, even though the Victorian era is long gone. Barbara Messing
Tim Berners Lee
This is for everyone. The Unfinished History of the World Wide Web
Rowohlt Verlag, 384 pages, € 28,–
ISBN 978-3-498-00381-4