Top 10 best things about the web

The world wide web is celebrating its twentieth birthday. Over those last two decades, the web has changed the way society works, plays, and interacts.

The pedant in us wants to reaffirm that this isn't the 20th anniversary of the internet as such. The internet itself is nearly 40 years old but the web was what took it from a simple data exchange service to something that everyone could use.

When Tim Berners-Lee first decided to build a system that would allow a freer exchange of information he really didn't know what an effect his system would have on the world. No-one did, but we are only feeling the first effects of it.

This week we look back on the best that the web has brought. Beyond just one site or service, this list ranks the best ways in which people have been able to use the internet.

10. Video

Shaun Nichols: Prior to the web, video was hardly a democratic medium. If you wanted to reach a large audience, you had to own a studio of some sort and have a large enough budget to distribute your creations. For the individual user, videos were more or less an archival tool to collect family memories.

The web changed that by simplifying the means of distribution. Webcam technology and services such as YouTube allowed users to become their own broadcasting station, and video was morphed into a communicative tool. Video is no longer divided between home movies and studio creations, there is a solid middle ground between the two which has become occupied by the internet.

This has also changed the way in which studios operate. Independent filmmaking has blossomed over the web, and indie studios are in some cases eschewing theatrical and television deals entirely to just work with web videos.

Iain Thomson: You can point to many things web video has done but the most importatn is the democratisation of online content.

20 years ago the idea of ground breaking video was limited to what the networks would show. The footage of Rodney King getting beaten sparked the worst riots America had seen for a generation but these days such footage is commonplace,

No longer can violent people rely on their crimes being forgotten, they are recorded and broadcast around the world in seconds. The convergence of digital media being cheap for all and web access have led to shared experiences that shape generations.

This goes twice for events of historical significance. Zapruder's footage of the Kennedy assassination took years to come out in its full detail, the next one will be around the world in seconds.

9. Humour

Shaun Nichols: One of the most appreciated characteristics of the web is its ability to bring a good laugh. Whether it's a funny video or a nicely written piece of satire, the amount of comedy available on the web is nearly limitless.

Perhaps it is another nice side-effect of the democratization which the internet affords. That funny joke or witty observation you heard in the office can be posted online and exchanged with others.

The web has also allowed humour publications such as the Onion and Cracked, which were previously limited to what and where they could distribute as print copy, to not only expand readership but to greatly advance their content offerings.

Iain Thomson: It is said that humour is the world emotion. I'd agree; life would be poorer without XKCD, LOLCats or the Fail blog.

This has of course led to some discord. Not everyone feel;s the same things are funny and one only has to look at the furore cause by cartoons of Mohammed to see that not everyone enjoys a giggle at the same things.

But honour is an indisputable important part of human life, and the web helps export that to all. Laughter is always better than anger.

8. Gaming

Iain Thomson: In the days before the web computer games enthusiasts were a small cadre of lonely, and predominantly, boys and men who spent days alone in their rooms hunched over a keyboard obsessively playing and replaying game scenarios.

With the advent of the web and online games there are now millions of people who still spend hours a day crouched over their computers but they are no longer so lonely, as they can talk and interact with other players online. I know of at least one marriage that has come about between two gaming clan members who would never have talked to each other if it hadn't been for a computer game.

The social nature has also broadened the spread of gamers, so that the sex imbalance is a lot less of a problem than it was. While you could argue that it's better that people who spend 12 hours a day playing World of Warcraft don't breed you'd be wrong, we all need someone to love, and maybe frag occasionally too.

Sociability aside, the ability to play other humans without them being in the same location has also improved gameplay exponentially. Even the best computer software can't match the inventiveness, unpredictability and downright devious nature of the human brain.

Shaun Nichols: The immediate benefit from web gaming that comes to mind is the ability for the socially awkward to better connect and enjoy the hobby that has largely isolated them in the first place. The average gaming geek probably has a much larger circle of friends thanks to the web.

But what it has also done is open a new hobby to those who otherwise would have been turned off by the isolation and loneliness involved. One of the main reasons why online RPG's have sold and thrived exponentially, better than their local PC and console-based predecessors, is that playing them is no longer a solitary activity.

If you were to tell many of the players out there today that they had to complete quests by themselves or with computer-controlled characters, you would like see the gamer ranks thin out substantially.

For other genres, such as first person shooters, the web also added a completely new challenge and dimension to gameplay. AI for most shooters involves simply tweaking the accuracy reaction times for computer-controlled characters. Playing against a skilled human player is far more challenging and engrossing than simply fragging a bot.

7. History

Shaun Nichols: Historical preservation is one of the more underappreciated aspects of the web. But never before has there been such a powerful vehicle for people to share their collective history not only with new audiences, but also more thoroughly with future generations.

Name an important event in history, chances are there is an extensive amount of information on the event the likes of which rivals the mind of any local specialist. Granted, there's also a greater volume of false and misunderstood interpretations on events, but a good researcher will find libraries worth of good information on pretty much any event through the web.

One of my favourite examples is the Denver Public Library, which over the last decade or so has been working to digitize its entire photo archive, containing hundreds of thousands of photos telling the story of the state's history. Galleries which had previously been available only to professional historians are now open online to everyone in the world. Now, even the Brits can learn about local hero "Buffalo" Bill Cody.

Iain Thomson: As part of my history exams at 18 I spent hours going through census records and historical diaries trying to understand generations that had gone before.

Rather than sitting in front of a microfiche reader everyone can now examine the records of times past from the comfort of their own home. It's a blessing to future generations.

It will also help future generations understand their forebears. Too much data is stored in paper, microfiche or on discs that are incompatible for reading. The web storage of such data is vital for keeping our history live.

6. Culture

Iain Thomson: One of the most profound consequences of the web has been the plethora of cultures it has spawned, and will continue to do in the future.

Before web took off there were already subcultures developing online. Bulletin boards catering to particular interests used their own languages and conventions to spot people who didn't belong, the lack of physicality made for a more egalitarian outlooks and users began to experiment with different organisational structures.

Social networking has taken this phenomenon mainstream, and is continuing to effect how people organise themselves today. Take a look at something like Facebook for example. People nbow routinely let their friends know about breakups and divorces by clicking a box rather than calling them up or writing a letter.

This has of course led to some teething problems. How long into a relationship does one change their status from 'single' to 'in a relationship'? Is putting 'It's complicated' instead indicate you're just in it for the sex? Al these questions are being worked out online.

Moving beyond this some online networks are already using the idea of received status as a way of ordering within a group. This involves people who do things for the group being publicly recognised by its members, either in the form of an icon with sites like Popbitch, or with awards as the new Quake Live site is trying. It's an interesting take on the old phrase 'By your actions you will be judged,” and often a more effective guide to character.

Shaun Nichols: Aside from nurturing and legitimizing many subcultures, the web has also led to the creation of entirely new structures and groups.

People now become involved in tight-knit communities developed over a shared interest in an online game, or simply from posting on the same web forum at the same time. Groups are no longer based on a shared proximity. People will routinely tell you that relationships developed online are often more substantial than those shared with co-workers or associates.

This has also changed the way some people view the nature of love and commitment. Some people become smitten with their in-game companions, and the end of a web-relationship can devastate some people as deeply as losing a physical friend or partner would.

While in extreme cases this can be very bad, it's also hard to argue against anything that can give you a sense of camaraderie with someone on the other side of the planet you would have otherwise never met.

5. Activism



Iain Thomson: Activists were very quick to spot the power of the web, and the internet before it. In the 1989 Velvet Revolution in the old Czechoslovakia computer messaging was a significant factor in spreading the message of protests and getting people out onto the streets.

Professional activists recognise that strength comes in numbers and organisation. It's difficult to organise a group without electronics since they have to be physically present, which makes things unwieldy and easy to crack down on by the authorities.

Using the web activist groups have not only been able to organise more effectively but also share information and campaign literature. In more mainstream protests the online petition is gaining credibility and services like theyworkforyou.com in the UK have made it much easier for people to get in contact with their elected representatives.

The politicians may hate this, but they notice it. It's an old adage in politics that for every letter they receive there's around ten people who feel the same way on the subject and they'll be talking about it to ten people each.

Special interest groups in the US too have been very active in using the web to coordinate correspondence with those in power. Say the wrong thing and a politician's inbox can be flooded with messages reminding them that people are listening.

But it's not just politics – the web has made consumers more active as well. Had a bad experience with a supplier? There's sites to let people know and businesses are increasingly monitoring to see where they are falling down. In the past you could only tell your friends and family if you got ripped off, or were treated exceptionally well. Now everyone can know.

Shaun Nichols: I would add that the web has not only empowered activism, but it has also changed the concept of what an activist truly is. Activism was previously very limited by geography and surrounding demographics which could often reduce it to only the most dedicated individuals.

Because of the web, protest and activism have spread into the realm of moderates, and truly brought the sense of "power to the people." Those who would have otherwise been either unable or unaware enough to organize on their own, or intimidated about speaking out in a potentially hostile environment, can now make their voices heard because of the web.

As with most things on the web, this cuts both ways. The web has also empowered hate groups to spread their message, but even then, people are able to safely speak their minds and counter the ugly arguments with more enlightened points of view.

4. Ecommerce

Iain Thomson: In a lot of cases ecommerce took existing old-world businesses and used the web to make them accessible to all.

Auction houses for example were only able to cater to people who could actually turn up, or afford the services of a phone bidder. Internet auction on the other hand are open to anyone online. This broadens the buying base and ensures the best price for the seller.

However, ecommerce has also forced plenty of industries to change their business models. Take journalism for example. Back when I was working on a dead tree (paper) publication we sold a magazine on the news stand for some revenue and then made up the rest with advertising. Now we give our copy away for free and use the expanded readership from being online to boost advertising revenues.

This is fine for some industries which accepted the change and worked with it. Others, like the music industry, have tried to force people to ignore the web and are reaping the heavy cost of ignoring change.

But by in large the popularity of the web has been a huge advantage to business. If you look at the value of ecommerce it makes up a seizable minority of the money being used in the economy and that percentage will only grow. At some point in the future, be it years or decades, the bulk of business will be carried out online.

Shaun Nichols: Not only have businesses seen the advantages of ecommerce, but consumers have benefited greatly as well. Just as a store owner can now sell an item to a buyer in another corner of the country, a consumer can buy a specialized item from a store hundreds of miles away that would have otherwise had to be special ordered at a premium cost, or painstakingly purchased through a catalogue service.

Then there's the bargains. A service such as Amazon would never have existed in the real world because doing so would have resulted in a sort of flea market layout that covered the entire state of Kansas.

With the web, users can compare prices from dozens of retailers in multiple locations from a single screen. For things such as travel and hotel prices, it would be nearly impossible to match the efficiency of bargain-hunting web sites.

3. Neutrality

Shaun Nichols: Current debates aside, the idea of a neutral and level playing field is one of the most admirable traits of the web.

As anyone who follows cable news in the US can tell you, presenting information in a completely neutral light is extremely difficult, if not impossible. On the web, however, it's a much easier task. Not only does the accessibility allow one to consult multiple sources with different viewpoints, it also allows those viewpoints to be in the same space at the same time without coming to blows.

Often, this devolves into trolling contests or pointless back-and-forth, but when it does work, the web can become a truly excellent forum for debate and as reliable of a method for presenting an issue from a neutral point of view as there ever was.

Iain Thomson: Net neutrality was built into the foundations of the web, and long may it continue.

The idea of an open playing field is something that would warm the heart of Adam Smith. Without neutrality we'd have no Google; lesser search technologies would have paid their way to faster access and we'd all be poorer for it.

The very idea of a totally free market is a logical impossibility; like communism it's a concept rather than an actuality. But net neutrality is the best idea we've got for ensuring good ideas come to the fore.

When you get people in their twenties coming forward with business plans that seem insane and yet earn millions one might think that it's unfair. In fact, it's capitalism at its best.

People need to innovate, and the web allows them to do that. We all benefit from the result.

2. Entrepreneurship

Shaun Nichols: From the rise of Silicon Valley to the dotcom and web 2.0 eras, the web has done more to restore the entrepreneurial spirit and power of an independent business than any event or innovation this side of the industrial revolution.

Fifty years ago, starting a small business meant either opening a restaurant or a local retail shop. A handful of people were able to expand those operations into regional outfits, and even fewer were able to go national. But when the web exploded, so did the prospects for entrepreneurs.

Now, starting a new business can be as easy as purchasing a domain and placing your code online. No longer do college students dream of landing a mid-level position with a large company and climbing the corporate ladder. Now, an ambitious individual can build his or her own corporate ladder from the top down.

This has truly changed the way people define a successful business career and the methods in which one can attain it.

Iain Thomson: New technologies are a young person's game. The old guard didn't get the internt until too late and so a new generation of entrepreneurs came forward.

It's slightly gutting to those of us who grew up in the era to see people with shakey business plans making millions while we just wrote about it.

Nevertheless fair play to them, they took their chances and we have all prospered from it.

1 Information



Iain Thomson: This was an easy pick for the number one spot on the list. The web is, was and will always be about the dissemination of information.

The web is, in my view, more important to human development than the invention of the printing press. After all, while the printing press with movable type proved vital in making information accessible to more people it still had physical limitations – books could only be moved so far.

With the web everyone has the ability to let everyone else know facts and data. This ability has opened people up to stuff they never even thought about and has greatly expanded the ability of educators, researchers and businesses to go about their businesses.

It has also democratised the information process. In the past newspapers could censor, publishers refuse manuscripts and governments could ban writing. Now, with the ability to put all of this stuff online and spread it around the consequences for human societies will be huge.

For a start representative government depends on an informed electorate. Certain governments still try to keep their citizens uninformed about events and action but the web makes that more and more difficult. The Great Firewall of China for example is pretty good at censoring the web but it is far from perfect and people are working around the clock to defeat it. Sooner or later the wall, like its Berlin predecessor, will fall and the resulting tsunami of information will sweep all before it.

Educators have in the web the ultimate encyclopaedia. This does not abrogate their responsibility to students, indeed in some ways can make it harder if people just cut and paste from Wikipedia, but they are getting smart to this. Teachers need to use the web, but should also teach students to be more critical of the information they receive. As my old history teacher was fond of saying, “Before reading anything consider three questions: who wrote this, why did they write it, and who's paying for it?”

Finally businesses have benefited hugely from the information now available on the web. It helps in sourcing suppliers, developing new products, finding business contacts in similar industries and even meeting online with people they couldn't ordinarily meet. Need a new widget for a product in development? Now you don;t have to travel to meet the supplier, you can email or videoconference and get the parts more quickly and most likely at a lower cost.

Information does come with problems (see the Top 10 worst things about the web) but these are either systemic or simply birthing pangs of a new age that the web has wrought.

Shaun Nichols: It can be said that just about everything else in this top 10 list stems from the basic principle that the web is a massive storehouse of information.

Now, anybody in the world can take computer science courses from MIT, or learn how to brew their own beer. These seem like obvious and trivial things now, but try and imagine what would be required to archive all of that information in a physical space.

Even with the early storage and networking tools that are now considered privative, collecting and browsing huge archives of data can be performed at a speed incomprehensible just a half century ago, while news can be spread at a fraction of time and cost required by any form of communication since.

That, at its base, is the core empowerment that the World Wide Web has brought to humanity, the accumulation and availability of vast amounts of both old and new information.