Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web (WWW), has called on users to ponder future possibilities as the world celebrated 25 years of the Internet yesterday.
While working for the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), in 1989, Berners-Lee distributed a document titled "Information Management: A Proposal" intended to improve the flow of information between colleagues.
The term "World Wide Web" was coined in 1990 and, on 6 August 1991, the Internet was accessible for the first time to people outside of CERN.
The idea enabled computers to communicate with one another over a network and the development of a uniform resource locator (URL) allowed users to narrow their searches and browse specific pages.
Free, open Internet
In a guest blog on Google this week, Berners-Lee called for the platform to remain free and open.
"By design, the underlying Internet and the WWW are non-hierarchical, decentralised and radically open.
"The Web can be made to work with any type of information, on any device, with any software, in any language. You can link to any piece of information. You don't need to ask for permission. What you create is limited only by your imagination," says Berners-Lee.
Democratisation remains a key element in Berners-Lee's thinking and he challenges users to "build systems of checks and balances to hold the groups that can spy on the Net accountable to the public".
While yesterday was a day to celebrate, says Berners-Lee, he noted it was also "an occasion to think, discuss - and do. Key decisions on the governance and future of the Internet are looming, and it's vital for all of us to speak up for the Web's future."
Looking forward
The Pew Research Centre this week released research into how the Internet could impact our lives over the next decade. It noted wearable items will become more pervasive, while global interconnectedness would all but dissolve borders between countries.
The report - "Digital Life in 2025" - mainly focused on predictions for the US and says Internet access is likely to become effortless, allowing people to tap into it "like electricity".
Mobile could contribute to Africa's increasing Internet use as smartphone penetration continues to grow across the continent.
As some of the world's biggest handset manufacturers drive sales of cheaper devices in emerging markets, analysts say many African users have their first Internet experience through mobile platforms.
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