World Wide Web Day

Observed on August 1 every year, World Wide Web Day is a global celebration of the ability to browse information spontaneously and freely using the Web. Aiming to highlight the role played by the web in accessing information and facilitating communication, the day honours the potential of the World Wide Web in empowering the masses.

August 1 honours the impact created by the World Wide Web—commonly referred to as WWW, W3, or the Web | Source: VectorStock

With the advent of the World Wide Web, the world witnessed a sweeping information revolution. As the globe became more connected than ever owing to communication becoming swifter and easier, the dependence on telegrams, letters and costly long-distance phone calls decreased considerably. While previously information could only be derived from encyclopaedias, newspapers, books and magazines, the introduction of the World Wide Web proved how information regarding anything was just a single click away.

The history of the World Wide Web dates back to the 1960s when the United States Department of Defense set up the ARPANET- a reliable network that could survive a nuclear attack. However, the birth of the Internet is attributed to 1969 when a message was shared between two computers for the very first time. As the use of the Internet extended beyond academic and military purposes in the 1980s, a British computer scientist by the name of Tim Berners-Lee proposed the concept of a hypertext system that would enable users to access and share information globally, leading to the designing of the first web browser and web server accessible to the public in 1990.

A new era of web browsing began to unravel wherein people could navigate through hyperlinks, displaying images and texts following the release of the Mosaic web browser in 1993, which provided a rather graphical and simple user interface. Companies too recognised the potential harboured within the World Wide Web, which could maximise their commercial interests, leading them into jumping on to the dot-com bandwagon. With a '.com' in their name, the startups appealed to potential investors who wanted to capitalise on the internet’s incessantly growing potential.  However, scepticism concerning the Internet’s long-term viability sprang up in 2000, leading to a massive downfall of various companies.

Despite its fair share of challenges, World Wide Web continued to make a profound impact on the economy and society as a whole. The information thus became readily available, with the creation of search engines such as Google in the early 2000s. Moreover, with the creation of social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, the world witnessed a renewed sense of proximity, one like never experienced before.

Furthermore, with the introduction of mobiles and tablets, one could browse the web from anywhere, not having to rely on stationary desktops. Sectors that witnessed unfathomable growth included education and commerce, with the former having been revolutionised by the introduction of e-learning platforms and online courses and the latter receiving a boost from the introduction of e-commerce sites such as Amazon and eBay. With Netflix and YouTube gaining incessant popularity, it becomes crucial to note how the World Wide Web has touched almost all spheres of life.

Increased dependence, however, ushers with it increased threats such as privacy concerns and the spread of false information. Despite such challenges, the web harbours transformative potential which has continued to inspire humans for years. By democratising knowledge, the World Wide Web seeks to create a global community by overcoming physical impediments. Tracing its roots from a military experiment to its contemporary understanding as a global phenomenon, the journey of the web provides a testimony to humanity's ability to create, innovate, connect, and collaborate.