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