Many of the apps and devices we rely on daily are all practically babies in the tech world. Your beloved Instagram is only 9 years old, Twitter is 13, and the first iPhone came out only 12 short years ago. These and many other technological advancements wouldn’t have been possible without the World Wide Web – and today it turns 30!
Now, don’t get it twisted… The Internet has been around a little while longer than that. When the World Wide Web was created it made it much easier to access data online through websites and hyperlinks which we commonly use today. Thanks to the web, information across the internet became more accessible and popular amongst the public.
Isn’t that crazy? It’s only been less than 30 years where we could have information right at our fingertips. It has enabled us to connect with people on the other side of the world in the blink of an eye and much more. Some of you might remember when technology started to shift, while some others wouldn’t even be able to function in the world without a cell phone in their hand.
Tim Berners-Lee’s 1989 invention ultimately caused our society to transform. Throughout the 2000s we’ve seen the ways we interact with one another change for the better and the worse. In a recent letter the inventor noted,
While the web has created opportunity, given marginalized groups a voice, and made our daily lives easier, it has also created opportunity for scammers, given a voice to those who spread hatred, and made all kinds of crime easier to commit.
Now that we’ve been fully thrusted into the information age you have to think – what’s next? Microsoft has a facial recognition software, Face API, that can detect human faces, and signify an age and emotion for each. HP even has a computer, called Sprout, that allows you to scan 2D and 3D objects to interact with on the digital interface. Whoever is in the process of designing the next invention that’ll take the world by storm, make sure you consider both the good and bad uses for the technology. Find ways to better the world and not harm it.
Nevertheless, Happy Birthday to the Web! Without this key invention online communities and blogs like Sistas in STEM wouldn’t be able to exist and thrive today.
