Introduction
The invention and growth of the World Wide Web (WWW) have been impacting numerous lives across the globe. Since 1990 WWW has exponentially developed in size and is now utilized in many aspects of life, including education, commerce, recreation, and healthcare (Campoverde-Molina et al. 91677; Shamrat et al. 1252). The Internet is a noteworthy term related to WWW since the two are often used interchangeably. The former refers to a global network that links millions of computers, while WWW is a server that relies on the Internet to share information (Shamrat et al. 1252; Tavakoli and Wijesinghe 49). WWW has significantly evolved throughout the years, and its current status is affecting society.
Historical Roots
The historical roots of WWW can be traced back to the XX century. Perhaps the most important person in WWW’s background is Tim Berners-Lee, who created the initial prototype of WWW in 1989 (Campoverde-Molina et al. 91676; Jacksi and Abass 75). The evolution of WWW began with Web 0.5, which defined the first web protocols (Tavakoli and Wijesinghe 49). Soon after, Berners-Lee presented Web 1.0, which was static and offered minimum interactions as users could only search for and read the information (Jacksi and Abass 75; Tavakoli and Wijesinghe 49). In the later 1990s, more dynamic Web 1.5 allowed broader commercialization as companies like Microsoft and Amazon submitted their services (Tavakoli and Wijesinghe 49). Another significant individual is Dale Dougherty, who, in 2004, formally introduced Web 2.0 and its read-and-write features alongside the ability to create online communities (Jacksi and Abass 76; Tavakoli and Wijesinghe 49). Accordingly, the initial phases of WWW evolved from basic protocols to social platforms.
WWW has expanded since the beginning of the XXI century. In the early 2000s, Web 2.5, also known as the mobile web, received attention due to the increased usage of smart devices (Tavakoli and Wijesinghe 49). In 2006, semantic Web 3.0 was introduced with a focus on three-dimensional (3D) virtual environments, like online shopping (Tavakoli and Wijesinghe 49). Furthermore, transitional Web 3.5 offered natural language processing and such 3D virtual social networks as vTime (Tavakoli and Wijesinghe 50). Web 4.0 is a recently developed version of WWW that allows symbiotic interactions between humans and machines, with the latter having hardware and software to analyze existing content and make decisions (Tavakoli and Wijesinghe 50). Consequently, WWW has evolved into mobile devices and presented many advanced features.
Current Status
The current status of WWW provides a variety of options and can lives. Web 5.0 is the latest version of WWW, which concentrates on more progressive relations between people and machines (Tavakoli and Wijesinghe 50). The latter can now recognize and react to facial expressions and add sensorial emotions to avatars (Tavakoli and Wijesinghe 50). For instance, Web 4.0 has facilitated the development of telemedicine and telehealth (Mbunge and Muchemwa 2). Moreover, Web 5.0 can be employed to study consumer behavior and purchasing decisions (Martinez-Ruiz and Moser 3). For example, some websites can track emotional phrases across WWW and categorize them according to frequency and location to be utilized in marketing (Martinez-Ruiz and Moser 3). Therefore, the latest version of WWW has the potential to influence daily life through improved healthcare services and more personalized advertisements.
Although it may seem that Web 5.0 is only at the developing stage, it has significantly affected society. Web 5.0 is quite new, yet it appears that many vendors and users have migrated to the latest version of WWW (Bamhdi 5). Web 5.0 attempts to personalize and improve user experience, although the idea of it acting on behalf of an individual may be concerning for some persons (Piatnychuk and Pyatnychuk 45). Notably, WWW is anticipated to evolve into Web 6.0, which is referred to as the web of thoughts and is likely to be rather different from modern practices (Bamhdi 6; Piatnychuk and Pyatnychuk 45). Consequently, despite being new, Web 5.0 is actively used by society but may be replaced by Web 6.0 in the future.
Conclusion
To summarize, the World Wide Web has substantially matured throughout the years and affects people’s lives. Although its basic version was created in 1989, the extensive development of WWW began in the 1990s and is continuing nowadays. The term WWW is closely connected with another noteworthy concept of the Internet, which facilitates the work of WWW. Some important people in WWW’s evolution are its inventors, Tim Berners-Lee and Dale Dougherty, who contributed to adding such features as creating online communities. While the current status of WWW offers some benefits, like enhanced healthcare, WWW is associated with ideas of Web 5.0 potentially acting on behalf of humans and what WWW will be like in the future.
Works Cited
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