Essentially, the internet is a large number of computers connected together in such a way that communication between them is reliable and efficient. Originally, Berners-Lees intention was to provide researchers with the ability to share scientific data without having to constantly exchange e-mails. Instead, researchers would place such information ‘online,’ where multiple peers at anytime could immediately retrieve it. However Berners-Lee quickly realised that it could have uses for many types of documents. The Internet today is used by a range people, not only to communicate and to share information but also to build relationships and communities among many other things. It is a culture that has expanded within a virtual locale and has penetrated many aspects of everyday life.
The internet is beneficial in many ways: it is foremost an infinite treasure trove of information providing an expansive source for research and education. Not only does it achieve Berners-Lee’s principal aim of communication through the use applications such as Skype, MSN, Googlemail which allows face to face internet phone calls, instant messaging and emails but it excels far beyond this. It does this by facilitating worldwide media via a variety of mediums, for instance the internet radio and forums. It has created a whole new sphere where business can take place, usually referred to as e-commerce. The internet has permitted the use of services such as twenty-four hour online banking and also provides an array of entertainments ranging from games to gossip.
Although the internet has plenty to offer and a great deal of potential, like every innovation the internet also has its disadvantages. Unforeseen to Berners-Lee, when conceiving one of the fundamental characteristics of the internet was the fact that as it allows most people to publish information and documents to a wide audience, with such a large amount of
information freely available it is difficult to distinguish between credible sources and others. Anonymity is another issue, as it allows people to pose under an alternative alias which can leave people vulnerable to being taken advantage of. There have been serious cases of theft and misuse of private data including financial information experienced online, this is known as phishing. As sending multiple emails is free, it has led to large amounts of junk email or spam, being sent across the web. Companies even use these tactics to send advertisements and marketing information. Viruses are also a massive problem as they can cause a considerable amount of damage. Lastly, the threat of pornographic websites especially to children as they’re millions of such sites and no restriction in access.
Berners-Lee became concerned with the nature of the direction the web was taking with its success. As the internet has grown and become a more commercial, public entity, Berners- Lee felt some sort of oversight was needed. As a result, in 1994 he established the World Wide Web (W3) Consortium at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Laboratory for Computer Science where he became the first holder of the founders chair. The consortium, although collaborating with others, had the aim of leading the web to it’s full potential by lending oversights to the internet and the developments of its standards. Since 2005, Berners-Lee has received 55 awards, medals and fellowships for his contributions to society some of which includes the ‘Young Innovator of the Year’ in 2005, the ‘Electronic Freedom Pioneer Award’ in 2000, the ‘Common Wealth Award for Distinguished Service for Mass Communication’ in 2005 and he was knighted by the queen for services to the global development of the internet in 2004. Berners-Lee is also the author, alongside Mark Fischetti, of Weaving the Web: The Original Design and Ultimate Destiny of the World Wide Web published in 2000. In 2006, a Web Science Trust was initiated with the intention of finding solutions to guide the use and layout of the internet and in 2008, Berners-Lee launched the World Wide Foundation whom he was the director of. Recently, he undertook a project helping the UK Government to make data more accessible to constituents over the web thus assisting in the promotion of transparency and accountability (Vallance, 2010).
Timothy Berners-Lee instigated the development of the internet with an ethos of a free, cooperative information-based society which has undoubtedly had a profound effect on the world. Its power to generate endless amounts of information and establish reliable and efficient communicative link has been most advantageous to the majority of mankind. Not only this, but Berners-Lee has persistently contributed in the attempt to better the structure and content of the web to ensure it benefits humanity making him an highly influential character within the global community. Though, the internet has the capability to cause destruction through its misuse, the advantages of it irrefutably outweigh its disadvantages and therefore will remain a technological wonder of modern age.