A Brief History of the Web

The Web is now so ingrained in our lives that it is easy to forget that it is less than twenty years old. But the History of Web goes back much further, to the pioneering technologists who built the first hypertext systems and the men and women before them who imagined great libraries of interconnected information that would augment human intellect and drive civilization forward. In this lecture we will explore the pre-digital origins of the Web, look at how it developed into the mass communication system we have today, and speculate on the next stages of its evolution in the context of Web Science and Social Media.

Foundations of Web Science: Introductory Lecture

An introduction to the "Foundations of Web Science" module that overviews the module itself, plus the context of web science at Southampton in terms of WSRI and the new Doctoral Training Centre.

Foundations of Web Science: Introductory Lecture 2. What is Web Science?

Professor Nigel Shadbolt describes the emergence of Web Science Research Initiative and discusses the themes and topics that contribute to an understanding of Web Science.

An Economists View of Web Science

Social Networking explained by an economic model of cost and benefit.

A History of Communication

Speech, Writing, Print, Telephony, Web. How technology is catching up with the brain.