The World Wide Web


"The Web today is eclectic and inclusive and continues to borrow from remediate almost any visual and verbal medium we can name" - Jay Bolter and Richard Grusin

 

 

 

World Wide Web vs. Internet

The majority of people use these two terms like they mean the same thing, however they are two completely different terms. The internet is defined as "a massive network of networks or a network infrastructure; it connects millions of computers together globally, forming a network in which any computer can interact with any other computer" by WEBOPEDIA. This is only possible where an internet connection is available. On the other hand, the world wide web is defined as "a way of accessing information over the internet; it is an information-sharing model that is built on top of the internet." Ultimately, without the invention of the internet, the world wide web would be inexistent [3].

 

History of the World Wide Web

Computers originated in large businesses, such as fields of science, administration, and the military bases. However, with the development of personal computers, people had access to everything at home, which was and still is way more convenient. The World Wide Web was officially introduced by Tim Berners-Lee on August 6th of 1991. He formally introduced his innovation on the "alt.hypertext newsgroup." This happened by using a hypertext method for linking between different documents. He also made replication of files available [1]. August 6th of 1991 was an epic date for technology; this is the day the web went world wide.  

 

Definition of the Term

The World Wide Web is known as one of the most successful formats of internet. It is defined as a system of internet servers that support specially formatted documents. The documents are formatted in what is called an HTML, which is HyperText Markup Language); this supports links to other documents, as well as graphics, audio, and video files. This frees the jumping of one document to another by clicking on hot spots. There are several applications called Web Browsers that make the World Wide Web easily accessed; the most popular are Firefox and Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer [3].

 

Text and Graphic Design

Before the web was invented, email and file transfers transformed books and letters. The internet had to rely on speed of communication because it could not offer materials available to print. A breakthrough happened in 1993 by Marc Andreeseen and his colleagues at the Univeristy of Illinois; they created the first graphical browser. When they did this, images were able to appear along with text on the web pages. However, this was not perfect. The most popular web users were professors and researchers who has been exposed to the web because for quite some time, mostly using email. However, without pictures and graphic designs on web pages, the web industry would not have boomed as well. When web designers were deciding what exactly to put on the web (other than text) they turned to magazines and advertisements for motivation and inspiration. What graphic design brought was essentially every pixel on the web screen; it also controlled placement and color. Another great advantage of graphic design is it attracted more people to that page with the bright colors and images. On the other hand, graphic design did not account for moving images. This resulted in an emergency of delivering animation, increased interactivity, digital video, and audio video [4].

 

Advantages

– Free information

– Low cost of connection

– Fast interactive communication

– Fast exchange of data and information

– Fast exchange of professional contact

– Essentially unlimited access to sources of information, which is updated daily

– Management of companies information system

– Accessible from anywhere (where there is an internet connection available)

– Web has become the new global media

 

Disadvantages

– Overload and un-needed information

– Requires a "search strategy"

– Slow connection

– Filtering and organizing information may be difficult

– Not being able to find what you are looking or

– Internet becomes overloaded because of number of users accessing information at the same time

– No regulation of information

– Because information is constantly updated, referencing becomes difficult [2]

 

Implications to Media Ecology

Before the emergence of the World Wide Web, everyone had to use books, letters, and the telephone for communication; essentially verbal communication. However, the World Wide Web made communication faster and easier. Not only could friends communicate with each other, but so could students and professors; pictures were sent easier, along with videos, health forums, etc.  Also, it made researching easier. On the negative aspect, the web also brought laziness among the world. Now people could have access to so much information at their fingertips while laying in bed or watching television.

 

References 

[1]Boswell, Wendy. About.com Web Search. "History of the World Wide Web." N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2011. <http://websearch.about.com/od/searchingtheweb/a/webhistory.htm>.

[2]Farran, A, J Pascual, J Grillo, R Codony, and J Boatella. "Advantages and Disadvantages of the World Wide Web." N.p., 16 Oct. 2008. Web. 28 Apr. 2011. http://lorenapomposodraft.wordpress.com/2008/10/16/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-the-world-wide-web/.

[3]"What is the World Wide Web?." WEBOPEDIA. N.p., 2011. Web. 28 Apr. 2011. <http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/W/World_Wide_Web.html>.

[4]Crowley, David, and Paul Heyer. Communication in History: Technology, Culture, Society. 6th ed. Boston: Pearson Education Inc., 2011. 274-304. Print.