Flipped Lecture 3: Web 1, 2, 3

This third flipped lecture is a series of videos describing Web 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0, their evolution and what the Internet will be like going forward.

The first video simply put forth the idea that Web 1.0 was simply a one-way conversation from producer to consumer. While Web 2.0 is a multi-directional conversation not just from producer to consumer and vice versa but also from conversations between different consumers or rather Internet users.

The second video explains this development from Web 1.0 to 2.0 by explaining that with the developments of Facebook, Youtube, Wikipedia and blogging the Internet was and is being shaped and produced by users. It goes on however to explain Web 3.0 which is where the internet starts to recognize what the user wants and can pull information that suits their needs. It also expands into the notions of the Internet not just being something on a PC but it also now being used in cars and mobiles and is expanding into things such as kitchen appliances.

The third video details the evolution of text from being something written and linear to something dynamic and changing. It then moves to describe how users grew to have more freedom on the Internet as blogs sites meant that users did not need to know code and that they could begin linking Internet information for themselves. This discussion of the evolution of text poses the question that we need to rethink ideals such as copyright and authorship.

The fourth video details the semantic web explaining that computers could only understand syntax not semantics. So when users used things such as emoticons it would not be understand the meaning. Going forward the video proposes the idea that for the web to develop it would need to learn semantics so it can be useful to the user as it can find things automatically relating to what the user is looking for.

The fifth video is with the inventor of the Internet Tim Berners-Lee who explains that the Internet is still exploding and exploding everywhere as users and creators move forward to creating the semantic web. He goes onto describe the values that it would have not only to individuals but also to industries and services as the Internet would be able to quickly collate the necessary information that could help cure diseases and help with disaster relief and responses. He emphasizes the importance of hypertext because that is one of the main factors bringing the Internet together.

The last video is a summary of the story of Web 1.0 to the direction of Web 3.0 by marking distinctive developments such as Yahoo and Google merging with Amazon to indicate that the Internet is headed to being the semantic web.

The collaboration of these videos explains the Semantic web and why the Internet is heading in this direction. When I researched the semantic web I found that it is somewhat of a controversy as essentially servers such as Google are building data files on users to guess what they want and need so that the computer can understand rather than mimic a user.

FLIPPED LECTURE 2- The History of the Internet: Search

The emergence of search engines in the 90s Internet boom was of high importance in commercializing the Internet. Before Google and Yahoo, users could only access websites through following the links on sites and it was simply luck to find something that your were specifically looking for.

This documentary is the second part of “The True Story of the Internet” and details the development of the search engines in particular Google and yahoo.

There were two main issues that arose from this documentary. Firstly it talked about the problems Internet companies have with making money. Second and finally it talked about the privacy implications that search engines have.

After witnessing the emergence of companies like Yahoo and Excite exploit the integrity of their search engines by simply showing advertising and smut Google wanted to set themselves apart. To be more user friendly they listed sites not by advertising but instead by calculating the most popular sites in relation to the key words searched by the user. This made the engine highly popular and investors soon flocked but it offered no key to making money. The founders did not want to compromise the engine and turn off users so they changed the way advertising was used. Allegedly Google stole the idea (but modified it) of having the advertising match or be in relation to the key words searched while still listing in the method of popularity that Google was known for.

The second issue discussed in the documentary was the privacy associated with recording people’s searches to generate data to know where to place ads. This is still a prevalent issue of the internet today where advertising matching your past searches follows you through different sites. Just this week in the news Google and Yahoo are joining in advertising deals to collaborate with this technology.

FLIPPED LECTURE- The History of the Internet: Browser Wars

This documentary entitled “Browser Wars” details the competition between Microsoft and Netscape during the 1990s over the launch and development of the Internet browser.

The documentary begins with the host making some grand statements about the prevalence of the Internet by describing it as one of the biggest and greatest developments in technology that the world has ever seen.

It tells the story from both Netscape’s and Microsoft’s point of view by consulting people that were involved at the time. The story however essentially follows Netscape rise and downfall by beginning with the launch of the first Internet browser Mosaic and ending with them being sold to AOL.

At the time of the mid 90s Microsoft was the computer software giant and their leader and founder Bill Gates was a formidable and competitive force to be reckoned with. However when a bunch of university students launched the first Internet browser and had a five million dollar backing from Jim Clarke they emerged as one of Microsoft’s biggest threats. Their software had massive growth and soon Microsoft arranged a meeting of which what actually happened is widely debated. Microsoft claims it was collaborative and harmonious while Netscape claims that Microsoft threatened them. Within the year they went public with their business a feat essentially unknown on Wall Street. They made massive profits but struggled to make money from their actual product and did not have the reserve to keep up with Microsoft. Before this however there was race for best internet browser where both companies were trash talking each other and had a “code more or die” attitude. When Microsoft retaliated with the launch of Internet Explorer, an app free with their software Netscape lost the browser war.

The issue surrounding this flipped lecture is the power of monopoly on the Internet landscape. According to Netscape and an investigation from the federal government Gates broke laws in attaining his monopoly in the computer world. Allegedly he threatened other companies with breaking their deals should they become involved with Netscape. This issue still has a role in the contemporary internet landscape with the domination of Apple.

When I googled browser wars to get more information on this topic it came up with a series of articles of the modern day battle. There are more competitors in the market with Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari and still Internet Explorer however they are not searching for dominance just in PC’s or Mac’s. instead the modern browser wars includes making the browsers suitable and compatible for mobile devices and combining the features of the browsers to collaborate well with the apps.