I was quite fascinated by a recent article in the Communications of the ACM written by Web luminaries James Hendler, Nigel Shadbolt, Wendy Hall, Tim Berners-Lee, and Daniel Weitzner titled Web Science: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Understanding the Web (Communications of the ACM).
The article argues that while the micro aspects of the Web (networking, protocols and Web applications, etc.) are all well understood, the macro side of the web is not (its evolution, usage, behavior, social impacts, and so on); this a very accurate observation. The authors propose a new science field of study — the Web Science:
The Web must be studied as an entity in its own right to ensure it keeps flourishing and prevent unanticipated social effects.
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Despite the Web’s great success as a technology and the significant amount of computing infrastructure on which it is built, it remains, as an entity, surprisingly unstudied. Here, we look at some of the technical and social challenges that must be overcome to model the Web as a whole, keep it growing, and understand its continuing social impact. A systems approach, in the sense of “systems biology,” is needed if we are to be able to understand and engineer the future Web.
For this, the Web Science Research Initiative (WSRI) was been formed:
The Web Science Research Initiative brings together academics, scientists, sociologists, entrepreneurs and decision makers from around the world. These people will create the first multidisciplinary research body to examine the World Wide Web and offer the practical solutions needed to help guide its future use and design.
The Web continues to evolve, having a tremendous impact on our society. It really is as seeing a biological entity grow and evolve; and this is because people are evolving it (and vice-versa), and thus it has the unpredictability that comes from humans beings; it is a beautiful thing.
There is a lot to be learned about the Web beyond the technology found at its micro level, under the covers. There is a lot to learned on how it grows and evolves, and the impact that is has on people and their interactions, and on society. But also the impact the other way; of the people and the society and economic factors that have on the evolution of the Web. The following Colliding Web Science illustrates this complexity:
And when considering the mobile factor, another level of complexity is added to the Web equation (science)…
I hope to see this new field and discipline evolve into a formal area of study of science, with concentrations on mobile and the Web.
ceo