The Internet Is 25yrs Today.....how Has It Affected You????

Today is the web’s 25th birthday: i

love the web, Thank you Tim Lee

On the 25th anniversary of the

World Wide Web, I am pleased to

share this guest post from Sir Tim

Berners-Lee, the inventor of the

web. I believe that technology and in

particular the Internet is key to

eradicating some of the problems we

experience in Africa

"Today marks the 25th birthday of

an invention which has changed

humanity forever, and created a new

virtual world within a generation.

There was no birthday cake

yesterday, but you could have been

forgiven for thinking a celebrity had

just shown up at the Science

Museum.

Instead, photographers and film

crews were clustered around a black,

decidedly old-fashioned computer

and keyboard. In an attempt to make

the spectacle a little more exciting,

museum bosses had dressed up a

worker in obligatory science garb –

white coat and white gloves.

Today is an "important milestone"

according to Sir Tim. He hopes the

anniversary "will spark a global

conversation about our need to

defend principles that have made

the Web successful, and to unlock

the Web's untapped potential".

But his dream of a Web which is

free and accessible to all is under

threat as never before - with the

forces of commerce and government

spy agencies alike bringing issues of

privacy and control over data to the

fore. Sir Tim is calling on people to

make suggestions for what they

want the web to be, via social media

using hashtag #web25 or online at

webat25.org

"If we want a Web that is truly for

everyone, then everyone must play a

role in shaping its next 25 years," he

said.

Three in five people worldwide still

do not have access to the Web, but

Sir Tim is optimistic this will change.

"I believe we can build a Web that

truly is for everyone: one that is

accessible to all, from any device,

and one that empowers all of us to

achieve our dignity, rights and

potential as humans."

For all its obvious advantages, the

web has a dark side. Literally. The

"dark web", as it is known, where

everything from guns to drugs are

openly traded. Even on the wider

Internet, danger lurks in the form

of everything from paedophile

networks to suicide websites and

those promoting terrorism.