Sir Tim Berners-Lee imagined the web as a place where people would both encounter and share content. But at some point internet content became very one-directional: a read-only internet that resembled a somewhat more interactive form of existing broadcast media like television. However, the vision of a read-write internet lives on in certain ways. KZfaq, Facebook, Instagram, and other sites that allow users to share content have resulted in an explosion of sharing and creating, despite the limitations inherent to these platforms. And of course Wikipedia probably represents the ultimate realization of the read-write internet, as millions of users collaborate to create an online encyclopedia. But you can expect selling and sharing to continue to duel it out online for the foreseeable future.
Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).
Part of the www.internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (www.bluegroup.systems) production.