The World Wide Web (WWW) has revolutionized the computer and communications world like nothing before. The invention and wide spread adoption of the world wide web has set the stage for widespread information dissemination and collaboration between individuals all over the world but not physically in the same location. Where did the initial idea for the world wide web come from? What have we accomplished so far with the web and where do we go next from here? If networks are built to be completely open, can we restrict access to information? And how can we modify our models of how we pay for information to continue to support good quality journalism?
With all of the available technology we have today, the question Chris Anderson and his writers at Wired are constantly asking is what the impact these technologies will have on our lives and how will they change the way we work, live and play? How will new ways to measure, capture and represent data change the way we think about our health, our finances or even a societal problem like climate change? And as we think about the improving capabilities of computers and software, what jobs are best done by machines and what jobs will always need to be done by humans? And finally given Chris' role as the editor of a magazine, we explore how the publishing industry might evolve in the coming years.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee is credited as the inventor of arguably the most revolutionary technology of our day, the world wide web. He wrote the first web client and server in 1990 when he was working as a physicist at CERN (The European Organization for Nuclear Research). He is a Professor in the School of Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he also heads the Decentralized Information Group (DIG). He is also the Director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), a Web standards organization founded in 1994 which develops interoperable technologies (specifications, guidelines, software, and tools) to lead the Web to its full potential. During 2009, Tim also advised the UK Government on its "Making Public Data Public" initiative.
Chris Anderson is editor in chief of WIRED magazine, a position he took in 2001. During his tenure, the magazine has been nominated for nine National Magazine Award nominations and has won the prestigious top prize for general excellence three times (2005, 2007 and 2009). Anderson is the author of The New York Times best- sellers, The Long Tail and FREE: The Future of a Radical Price. In April 2007, Anderson was named to the "Time 100," the news magazine's annual list of the most influential people in the world. Previously, Anderson was at The Economist, where he served as U.S. business editor, Asia business editor and technology editor. He began his media career began at the two premier science journals, Nature and Science, where he served in several editorial capacities.