1 00:00:07,135 --> 00:00:08,802 The World Wide Web, 2 00:00:08,802 --> 00:00:10,636 where you're likely watching this video, 3 00:00:10,636 --> 00:00:13,251 is used by millions of people every day 4 00:00:13,251 --> 00:00:14,211 for everything from 5 00:00:14,211 --> 00:00:15,335 checking the weather, 6 00:00:15,335 --> 00:00:16,404 ordering food, 7 00:00:16,404 --> 00:00:17,218 and chatting with friends 8 00:00:17,218 --> 00:00:18,305 to raising funds, 9 00:00:18,305 --> 00:00:19,322 sharing news, 10 00:00:19,322 --> 00:00:21,125 or starting revolutions. 11 00:00:21,125 --> 00:00:24,328 We use it from our computers, our phones, even our cars. 12 00:00:24,328 --> 00:00:25,496 It's just there, 13 00:00:25,496 --> 00:00:27,050 all around us, all the time. 14 00:00:27,050 --> 00:00:28,717 But what is it exactly? 15 00:00:28,717 --> 00:00:32,051 Well first of all, the World Wide Web is not the Internet, 16 00:00:32,051 --> 00:00:34,905 even though the terms are often used interchangeably. 17 00:00:34,905 --> 00:00:37,607 The Internet is simply the way computers connect to each other 18 00:00:37,607 --> 00:00:39,470 in order to share information. 19 00:00:39,470 --> 00:00:41,145 When the Internet first emerged, 20 00:00:41,145 --> 00:00:44,161 computers actually made direct calls to each other. 21 00:00:44,161 --> 00:00:46,426 Today, networks are all around us, 22 00:00:46,426 --> 00:00:49,023 so computers can communicate seamlessly. 23 00:00:49,023 --> 00:00:50,757 The communication enabled through the Internet 24 00:00:50,757 --> 00:00:51,855 has many uses, 25 00:00:51,855 --> 00:00:54,805 such as email, file transfer, and conferencing. 26 00:00:54,805 --> 00:00:56,192 But the most common use 27 00:00:56,192 --> 00:00:57,995 is accessing the World Wide Web. 28 00:00:57,995 --> 00:01:00,607 Think of the Web as a bunch of skyscrapers, 29 00:01:00,607 --> 00:01:02,533 each representing a web server, 30 00:01:02,533 --> 00:01:05,618 a computer always connected to the Internet, 31 00:01:05,618 --> 00:01:08,449 specifically designed to store information and share it. 32 00:01:08,449 --> 00:01:10,138 When someone starts a website, 33 00:01:10,138 --> 00:01:12,694 they are renting a room in this skyscraper, 34 00:01:12,694 --> 00:01:14,241 filling it with information 35 00:01:14,241 --> 00:01:15,942 and linking that information together 36 00:01:15,942 --> 00:01:18,869 in an organized way for others to access. 37 00:01:18,869 --> 00:01:20,646 The people who own these skyscrapers 38 00:01:20,646 --> 00:01:22,033 and rent space in them 39 00:01:22,033 --> 00:01:23,368 are called web hosts, 40 00:01:23,368 --> 00:01:24,887 but anyone can set up a web server 41 00:01:24,887 --> 00:01:27,200 with the right equipment a bit of know-how. 42 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:29,156 There's another part to having a website, 43 00:01:29,156 --> 00:01:30,992 without which we would be lost in the city 44 00:01:30,992 --> 00:01:33,426 with no way of finding what we need. 45 00:01:33,426 --> 00:01:35,061 This is the website address, 46 00:01:35,061 --> 00:01:36,664 which consists of domain names. 47 00:01:36,664 --> 00:01:38,397 Just like with a real life address, 48 00:01:38,397 --> 00:01:41,326 a website address lets you get where you want to go. 49 00:01:41,326 --> 00:01:43,199 The information stored in the websites 50 00:01:43,199 --> 00:01:44,737 is in web languages, 51 00:01:44,737 --> 00:01:46,869 such as HTML and JavaScript. 52 00:01:46,869 --> 00:01:48,775 When we find the website we're looking for, 53 00:01:48,775 --> 00:01:52,033 our web browser is able to take all the code on the site 54 00:01:52,033 --> 00:01:55,084 and turn it into words, graphics, and videos. 55 00:01:55,084 --> 00:01:57,532 We don't need to know any special computer languages 56 00:01:57,532 --> 00:02:01,320 because the web browser creates a graphic interface for us. 57 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:02,783 So, in a lot of ways, 58 00:02:02,783 --> 00:02:05,283 the World Wide Web is a big virtual city 59 00:02:05,283 --> 00:02:06,893 where we communicate with each other 60 00:02:06,893 --> 00:02:08,259 in web languages, 61 00:02:08,259 --> 00:02:10,618 with browsers acting as our translators. 62 00:02:10,618 --> 00:02:12,866 And just like no one owns a city, 63 00:02:12,866 --> 00:02:14,332 no one owns the Web; 64 00:02:14,332 --> 00:02:15,949 it belongs to all of us. 65 00:02:15,949 --> 00:02:17,785 Anyone can move in and set up shop. 66 00:02:17,785 --> 00:02:19,840 We might have to pay an Internet service provider 67 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:21,474 to gain access, 68 00:02:21,474 --> 00:02:23,368 a hosting company to rent web space, 69 00:02:23,368 --> 00:02:25,865 or a registrar to reserve our web address. 70 00:02:25,865 --> 00:02:27,948 Like utility companies in a city, 71 00:02:27,948 --> 00:02:29,984 these companies provide crucial services, 72 00:02:29,984 --> 00:02:31,366 but in the end, 73 00:02:31,366 --> 00:02:32,986 not even they own the Web. 74 00:02:32,986 --> 00:02:34,823 But what really makes the Web so special 75 00:02:34,823 --> 00:02:36,617 lies in its very name. 76 00:02:36,617 --> 00:02:37,950 Prior to the Web, 77 00:02:37,950 --> 00:02:39,533 we used to consume most information 78 00:02:39,533 --> 00:02:41,027 in a linear fashion. 79 00:02:41,027 --> 00:02:42,863 In a book or newspaper article, 80 00:02:42,863 --> 00:02:45,284 each sentence was read from beginning to end, 81 00:02:45,284 --> 00:02:46,832 page by page, 82 00:02:46,832 --> 00:02:49,533 in a straight line until you reached the end. 83 00:02:49,533 --> 00:02:51,572 But that isn't how our brains actually work. 84 00:02:51,572 --> 00:02:53,865 Each of our thoughts is linked to other thoughts, 85 00:02:53,865 --> 00:02:55,574 memories, and emotions 86 00:02:55,574 --> 00:02:58,611 in a loose interconnected network, like a web. 87 00:02:58,611 --> 00:03:01,315 Tim Berners-Lee, the father of the World Wide Web, 88 00:03:01,315 --> 00:03:04,517 understood that we needed a way to organize information 89 00:03:04,517 --> 00:03:06,852 that mirrored this natural arrangement. 90 00:03:06,852 --> 00:03:09,618 And the Web accomplishes this through hyperlinks. 91 00:03:09,618 --> 00:03:11,890 By linking several pages within a website 92 00:03:11,890 --> 00:03:14,163 or even redirecting you to other websites 93 00:03:14,163 --> 00:03:16,950 to expand on information or ideas immediately 94 00:03:16,950 --> 00:03:18,450 as you encounter them, 95 00:03:18,450 --> 00:03:19,524 hyperlinks allow the Web 96 00:03:19,524 --> 00:03:22,516 to operate along the same lines as our thought patterns. 97 00:03:22,516 --> 00:03:24,663 The Web is so much a part of our lives 98 00:03:24,663 --> 00:03:26,516 because in content and structure, 99 00:03:26,516 --> 00:03:28,683 it reflects both the wider society 100 00:03:28,683 --> 00:03:30,807 and our individual minds. 101 00:03:30,807 --> 00:03:32,571 And it connects those minds 102 00:03:32,571 --> 00:03:34,266 across all boundaries, 103 00:03:34,266 --> 00:03:36,182 not only enthnicity, gender, and age 104 00:03:36,182 --> 00:03:37,812 but even time and space.