Lou Fuiano
ITI Spring 2006
Duff

The New Media Reader
Chapter 54
Berner-Lee, Cailliau, Luotonen, Nielsen, Secret

W3 is upon us
My first thoughts about this article were that it seemed as though it was from another era. While it was written in 1994, it felt like some archival document recounting an aged invention. The fact is, so much seems different now that the digital age in general and the W3 specifically has entered our lives. How we communicate, learn, shop and do business has all been greatly affected by the presence of the web.

Communication professionals seem to be of varying opinions when it comes to the nuts and bolts of it. I meet designers young and old who prefer to keep a distance from the technical workings of making stuff for the web. While I'm woefully perplexed by the endless acronyms and how they work, I'm uncontrollably drawn to it. It's a classic case of - the more I learn, the less I know, making me all the more curious. Yes I'm loaded with questions, but I for one welcome this article.

When I first discovered that graphic designers needed to learn the counter-intuitive language of HTML, I felt exasperated. It seemed a cruel joke. The job of the graphic designer that had become so fluid as a result of digital technology, was now being saddled with code and data transfer. This angst soon began to subside when the offerings of the web began to take shape.

Before long HTML began to make sense. The idea of building a page design or dynamic document that is immediately available to a huge range of "client" terminals is staggering. Regardless of the type of server, everyone can review the available information. The user can set up a single browser interface and pull material from all over the W3. The article chronicles the early uses of the W3: Scientific research made available to a vast network. That said, the WAIS protocol and Gopher seemed like an environment aching for order.

It was useful to better understand the connection between Hypertext Transfer Protocol and HTML and how HTML helps to provide order by creating a better "design model". This is where graphic design seems vital to make the environment more friendly and efficient. It is also at this point that I discover that it's about much more than type, color and image to create effective communication. It's about a new method of providing information. This of course creates a new breed of artist, writer and content creator.

Most impressive is how the information on the web also empowers those who use it. The "Web about the web" resources available create a community of research and development. However, for this to be a truly great way to communicate, everyone should find it easy to edit and update, not just consume and interact. When annotating documents and editing sites are done by all, we will mark another remarkable phase of a rapidly changing form.

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