Blogging: A difficult area for the continuing development of the web

The creator of the world wide web - Tim Berners-Lee - believes blogging is "one of the most difficult areas for the continuing development of the web, because of the risks associated with inaccurate, defamatory and uncheckable information."

Berners-Lee goes on to suggest that if the internet is left to develop unchecked, "bad phenomena" (such as blogging) will erode its usefulness.

He believes devotees of blogging sites take too much information on trust: "The blogging world works by people reading blogs and linking to them. You're taking suggestions of what you read from people you trust. That, if you like, is a very simple system, but in fact the technology must help us express much more complicated feelings about who we'll trust with what."

Mmmh! Since when did the printing press, media corporations and political parties eradicate the passing on to millions of inaccurate, defamatory and uncheckable information? I thought all that was part of making money, PR, spin and staying in power.

See Creator of web warns of fraudsters and cheats by Bobbie Johnson of The Guardian for more unsubstantiated details.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ah, but it looks like he's been misquoted - or at least that's what he says.a

Anonymous said...

Fair enough Andrew, but it's not the first time that bloggers have been grouped together and accused of being rumour-mongers, etc.

Anonymous said...

Indeed, and it looks like the journalists involved heard what they wanted to rather than what Berners-Lee said. Not the first time that's happened either.