Sir Tim Berners-Lee, one of the original architects of the Internet, has given an interview to BBC News on the eve of the 15th anniversary of Web code being put in the public domain --- the effective start date of the mad rush that has spawned some 165 million sites and billions of user experiences.
In it he's philosophical about what is actually still a young technology. More good than bad, lots of new networks, plenty of problems solved.
But his expectations are about as grand as anything one might contemplate: data in everyone's hands, the opportunity to govern the planet within its grasp.
Journalism comes in all shapes and sizes today. At the beginning of the decade, few could imagine the podcast, and yet all sorts of conventional media (like us) produce them (here are some from our staff at The Vancouver Sun, including one from our gardening writer, Steve Whysall). One development, one decision, one statement today on the state of the American newspaper. The newspaper industry is attempting to demonstrate its capability to participate in the digital age. The latest indication is the latest Newspaper Association of America report, which suggests newspaper advertising actually drove online sales. In particular, the study conducted by Google through Clark, Martire and Bartolomeo found consumers used newspaper ads as an early part of the purchase chain. The ad led to the URL, which led to more research, which led to the purchase. News that the Gannett and Meredith organizations have conscripted a social-networking technology firm to generate new digital enterprises. We are far enough along into Web 2.0 that it ought to be adopting some of the familiar traits of conventional media --- as in circulation figures, readership figures, single-copy figures, overnight ratings, and the like. Ought to, as in starting to, not should be. The New York Times is the standard-bearer in print and digital publishing, so its decision to experiment with so-called "welcome" ads --- messages that can't be avoided as the site is launched --- is a significant gesture with implications for media. Steve Outing has for years been sounding a reasonable, practical tone in striving for strong journalism in realistic economic conditions in his writing for Editor & Publisher. It should come as no surprise that, in weighing in on the direction of newsrooms, Outing is recognizing the days of mini-vans arriving with new personnel seem done for the time being. But he sees a viable, positive option in developing a professional-amateur model of journalism, tapping into expertise and enthusiasm in communities of interest to complement the work of the full-time professionals. An interesting post today from Online Spin on the dynamic qualities in the next iteration of the World Wide Web, what it calls the World Live Web. |