April 30, 1993 was a historic day for technology and information sharing. The European Center for Nuclear Physics (CERN) established the World Wide Web in the public domain, ensuring a single system of free Internet access for all.
The World Wide Web is celebrating and reaches thirty. Created on April 30, 1993 by British physicist Tim Berners-Lee while working at CERN, the WWW emerged as a solution to the problem of sharing information between scientists from all over the world who worked in this institution.
At that time, knowledge sharing was mainly done through email and file sharing on computer systems, making it difficult to access and manage information efficiently.
As early as the late 1980s, Berners-Lee began to lay the groundwork and suggested a web-like management system linked by a series of what he called ‘hyperlinks’.
In one proposal, Berners-Lee asked CERN to “imagine, then, that all the references in this document are associated with the network address of the thing they refer to, so that as you read this document you can jump to them.” with a mouse click”.
Originally called in the Berners-Lee documents as ‘Mesh’, the browser that everyone knows as the World Wide Web by now became the first patent-free medium —he decided not to patent the technology— and easy to use to navigate the information network, becoming the Internet as it is known today.
It is important to note that this was not the first information network based on the use of hypertext. Other similar systems already existed, such as Apple’s ‘HyperCard’ project and the ‘Hyper-G’ system developed by the University of Graz in Austria. However, the WWW stood out for its simplicity and ease of use, which made it more accessible and popular than other similar systems.
History was made on April 30, 1993 thanks to Tim Berners-Lee
The key point of the WWW is that allowed the creation of a global network of information accessible to anyone with an Internet connection.
“This meant a radical change in the way people accessed and shared information, eliminating all kinds of geographical and cultural barriers and creating new opportunities for commerce, education, communication…”, explains Félix Llorente García, SAP Project Manager at Integra Strategy and Technology.
In the years following its creation, it experienced exponential growth. In 1995—just 2 years after its launch—it was estimated that there were around 16 million Internet users worldwide. By the year 2000, that number had ballooned to more than 360 million. —5.160 million in 2023—.
According to an MIT report, By the end of 1993, 623 web pages had already been created worldwide.such as that of the Dutch National Institute for Subatomic Physics, Bloomberg, New York Times, Louvre Gallery or Internet Movie Database (IMDb) and Aliweb (acronym for Archie-Like Indexing for the Web) was also born, considered one of the first search engines. WWW search.
It is undeniable that it has had a significant impact on the world in multiple areas and It has meant an improvement in many aspects of people’s daily lives:
Access to Information: It has revolutionized the way people search for and access information, enabling access to knowledge, resources and opportunities that were previously inaccessible to most people. Communication: the way in which people communicate with each other has significantly improved, allowing them to communicate instantly and in real time with others from anywhere in the world through email, instant messaging, social networks… etc Commerce: Has transformed the world of commerce, allowing companies to reach a global audience through websites, online stores, and other e-commerce platforms. This has allowed companies to sell their products and services to a wider audience and has opened up new business opportunities around the world. Education: Students can access high-quality educational resources online, such as courses, educational videos, and virtual libraries. Access to education is now easier and more affordable than ever. Entertainment: There is a wide variety of entertainment options without leaving home.
“With it, anyone with the Internet can access an enormous amount of information and knowledge on practically any subject. We must remember that although this now seems normal, before it was impossible,” adds Félix Llorente. In a nutshell It has meant a great democratization of knowledge.
Before the web, access to information was limited to those who could afford specialized books and magazines or had access to libraries. Thanks to her everything has changed.
To summarize, the opening to the world of the World Wide Web in 1993 it ushered in a new era in which information and knowledge became more accessible than ever before. Since then, it has radically changed the way in which knowledge is interacted with and among the population itself, transforming the way of living, working and communicating.
“The WWW is a borderless space where information can be shared and accessed by everyone. Its potential is limitless and its impact on the world has been significant,” said Tim Berners-Lee.
