In “Long Live the Web”, the advancement of both the web and internet is discussed, but the fact that the web and the internet are both separate from each other is what is mainly emphasized. Berners-Lee compares the internet to an electronic network, and the web can be compared to household appliances that feed off of the electricity brought to them via the electronic network. This analogy is important because, while the internet exists in the background, the web can continuously be changed and altered. As we progress into the modern era, there is constantly new web pages, sites, or other phenomenons being created. In fact, it is miraculous to look back and see how far we have come. However, with the positives of advancement comes realities that some may not want to face. This stems from how much is on the web, and how some items are not full deleted forever as users may think, or that there are people out there with potential access to hundreds of thousands of pools of personal data and a mind that could think of equally as many ways to use that data. This article brought up this reality of web security, and the connection to human rights (personal information being stolen, and the worries of snooping in general, etc). It was interesting to read through, because most people look at the internet and the web with excitement, without actually knowing what any of it means, or what the reality is. As we progress with development of internet and the web, we also need to progress with the protection of human rights on this platform, as well as educating people about it as much as possible. 

When reading “The Room Where the Internet Was Born”, it was just so interesting to picture a single room where the first breakthrough message was sent out via ARPANET. What is even more interesting is that this happened exactly 50 years ago this year in 1969! I think that a lot of young people today, including myself, don’t fully understand how young the phenomenon of the internet really is. For most of us grew up knowing about the internet, mobile devices, and a general idea of how to use those things. In reality, it was just when we were growing up, that development began to pick up speed. I remember when iPhones started coming out, and when wireless options were becoming more and more popular. But, reading this article and realizing that the breakthrough of all of this came from a single message being sent, gave me a bit of a shock. It is so cool to think that, from that one message (and who knows what that message was) we are able to use the internet to complete every day tasks from school to work, and even at home. it almost reminds me of the rapid urbanization of cities such as Shanghai, that massively grew and changed over a course of only 20 years from the 80s to the 2000s. Just as Shanghai changed into the global city it is today, the internet also grew in a similar fashion on its own. It is so cool to read this article, and look back to see just how far we have come.

http://imanas.shanghai.nyu.edu/~op531/week01/aboutme

This is the “About” page I created using the techniques we have learned in class so far!

In the introduction of the first article, the author compares the web to democracy, thus turning it to the product of human rights rather than the technology.

The universality is the foundation of the operation of webs because the web is in every corner of our society for sure. Almost all kinds of information and tools can be accessible to all people. But the problem is that the isolation, as well as the monopoly of the information, is wearing down the universality little by little. Therefore, an open standard is a must. Openness guarantees the diverse richness of the web design, the liberty of people and innovation of the society.

Simultaneously, separating the web from the Internet is necessary. They should not be bound tightly together. Otherwise, it will also prevent innovation due to the limit of development space. The best way of developing the web, according to the author, is to let the two layers of technology “work together and advance independently”.

The achievement of human rights, which is the most significant part of the development of the web, includes removing commercial discrimination and protecting the privacy of web users.

Fortunately, the totalitarian governments, the law institutions, the companies, and the public are making joint efforts to improve the situation. A bright future is there to be taken.

As for the next article, I’ve learned that the setting of a data center is not only related to the economic and politic factors, but also the climates or something. Jurisdiction over user data, which is a new-proposed idea, remains an issue in the international environment. Moreover, the USA somehow remains the depute center of the issue related to its economic interests.