0:00:07.135,0:00:08.802 The World Wide Web, 0:00:08.802,0:00:10.636 where you're likely watching this video, 0:00:10.636,0:00:13.251 is used by millions of people every day 0:00:13.251,0:00:14.211 for everything from 0:00:14.211,0:00:15.335 checking the weather, 0:00:15.335,0:00:16.404 ordering food, 0:00:16.404,0:00:17.218 and chatting with friends 0:00:17.218,0:00:18.305 to raising funds, 0:00:18.305,0:00:19.322 sharing news, 0:00:19.322,0:00:21.125 or starting revolutions. 0:00:21.125,0:00:24.328 We use it from our computers, our phones, even our cars. 0:00:24.328,0:00:25.496 It's just there, 0:00:25.496,0:00:27.050 all around us, all the time. 0:00:27.050,0:00:28.717 But what is it exactly? 0:00:28.717,0:00:32.051 Well first of all, the World Wide Web is not the Internet, 0:00:32.051,0:00:34.905 even though the terms are often used interchangeably. 0:00:34.905,0:00:37.607 The Internet is simply the way computers connect to each other 0:00:37.607,0:00:39.470 in order to share information. 0:00:39.470,0:00:41.145 When the Internet first emerged, 0:00:41.145,0:00:44.161 computers actually made direct calls to each other. 0:00:44.161,0:00:46.426 Today, networks are all around us, 0:00:46.426,0:00:49.023 so computers can communicate seamlessly. 0:00:49.023,0:00:50.757 The communication enabled through the Internet 0:00:50.757,0:00:51.855 has many uses, 0:00:51.855,0:00:54.805 such as email, file transfer, and conferencing. 0:00:54.805,0:00:56.192 But the most common use 0:00:56.192,0:00:57.995 is accessing the World Wide Web. 0:00:57.995,0:01:00.607 Think of the Web as a bunch of skyscrapers, 0:01:00.607,0:01:02.533 each representing a web server, 0:01:02.533,0:01:05.618 a computer always connected to the Internet, 0:01:05.618,0:01:08.449 specifically designed to store information and share it. 0:01:08.449,0:01:10.138 When someone starts a website, 0:01:10.138,0:01:12.694 they are renting a room in this skyscraper, 0:01:12.694,0:01:14.241 filling it with information 0:01:14.241,0:01:15.942 and linking that information together 0:01:15.942,0:01:18.869 in an organized way for others to access. 0:01:18.869,0:01:20.646 The people who own these skyscrapers 0:01:20.646,0:01:22.033 and rent space in them 0:01:22.033,0:01:23.368 are called web hosts, 0:01:23.368,0:01:24.887 but anyone can set up a web server 0:01:24.887,0:01:27.200 with the right equipment a bit of know-how. 0:01:27.200,0:01:29.156 There's another part to having a website, 0:01:29.156,0:01:30.992 without which we would be lost in the city 0:01:30.992,0:01:33.426 with no way of finding what we need. 0:01:33.426,0:01:35.061 This is the website address, 0:01:35.061,0:01:36.664 which consists of domain names. 0:01:36.664,0:01:38.397 Just like with a real life address, 0:01:38.397,0:01:41.326 a website address lets you get where you want to go. 0:01:41.326,0:01:43.199 The information stored in the website 0:01:43.199,0:01:44.737 is in web languages, 0:01:44.737,0:01:46.869 such as HTML and JavaScript. 0:01:46.869,0:01:48.775 When we find the website we're looking for, 0:01:48.775,0:01:52.033 our web browser is able to take all the code on the site 0:01:52.033,0:01:55.084 and turn it into words, graphics, and videos. 0:01:55.084,0:01:57.532 We don't need to know any special computer languages 0:01:57.532,0:02:01.320 because the web browser creates a graphic interface for us. 0:02:01.320,0:02:02.783 So, in a lot of ways, 0:02:02.783,0:02:05.283 the World Wide Web is a big virtual city 0:02:05.283,0:02:06.893 where we communicate with each other 0:02:06.893,0:02:08.259 in web languages, 0:02:08.259,0:02:10.618 with browsers acting as our translators. 0:02:10.618,0:02:12.866 And just like no one owns a city, 0:02:12.866,0:02:14.332 no one owns the Web; 0:02:14.332,0:02:15.949 it belongs to all of us. 0:02:15.949,0:02:17.785 Anyone can move in and set up shop. 0:02:17.785,0:02:19.840 We might have to pay an internet service provider 0:02:19.840,0:02:21.474 to gain access, 0:02:21.474,0:02:23.368 a hosting company to rent web space, 0:02:23.368,0:02:25.865 or a registrar to reserve our web address. 0:02:25.865,0:02:27.948 Like utility companies in a city, 0:02:27.948,0:02:29.984 these companies provide crucial services, 0:02:29.984,0:02:31.366 but in the end, 0:02:31.366,0:02:32.986 not even they own the Web.[br] 0:02:32.986,0:02:34.823 But what really makes the Web so special 0:02:34.823,0:02:36.617 lies in its very name. 0:02:36.617,0:02:37.950 Prior to the Web, 0:02:37.950,0:02:39.533 we used to consume most information 0:02:39.533,0:02:41.027 in a linear fashion. 0:02:41.027,0:02:42.863 In a book or newspaper article, 0:02:42.863,0:02:45.284 each sentence was read from beginning to end, 0:02:45.284,0:02:46.832 page by page, 0:02:46.832,0:02:49.533 in a straight line until you reached the end. 0:02:49.533,0:02:51.572 But that isn't how our brains actually work. 0:02:51.572,0:02:53.865 Each of our thoughts is linked to other thoughts, 0:02:53.865,0:02:55.574 memories, and emotions 0:02:55.574,0:02:58.611 in a loose interconnected network, like a web. 0:02:58.611,0:03:01.315 Tim Berners-Lee, the father of the World Wide Web, 0:03:01.315,0:03:04.517 understood that we needed a way to organize information 0:03:04.517,0:03:06.852 that mirrored this natural arrangement. 0:03:06.852,0:03:09.618 And the Web accomplishes this through hyperlinks. 0:03:09.618,0:03:11.890 By linking several pages within a website 0:03:11.890,0:03:14.163 or even redirecting you to other websites 0:03:14.163,0:03:16.950 to expand on information or ideas immediately 0:03:16.950,0:03:18.450 as you encounter them, 0:03:18.450,0:03:19.524 hyperlinks allow the Web 0:03:19.524,0:03:22.516 to operate along the same lines as our thought patterns. 0:03:22.516,0:03:24.663 The Web is so much a part of our lives 0:03:24.663,0:03:26.516 because in content and structure, 0:03:26.516,0:03:28.683 it reflects both the wider society 0:03:28.683,0:03:30.807 and our individual minds. 0:03:30.807,0:03:32.571 And it connects those minds 0:03:32.571,0:03:34.266 across all boundaries, 0:03:34.266,0:03:36.182 not only enthnicity, gender, and age 0:03:36.182,0:03:37.812 but even time and space.