Lunge 20 - Web 3 ?

I remember reading about a pioneer of hypertext who in the early 1960s, years before Tim Berners-Lee, created an intricate system of hypertextual links which he hoped would allow the creation of a network which could ultimately encompass all human knowledge. The necessary computing power was not then available. His name escapes me, but I think a quick google search might bring it up, in which case I will be very much performing a web 3 act. Ted Nelson. He called his system 'Xanadu'. He was also the author of a book "Computer lib" which advocated people understand and learn about computing as it was becoming a powerful force for change in the world.

In a way Nelson was an early exponent of the "Semantic web", well before the web existed. He argued for a tapestry of interconnected knowledge which would empower the average person by allowing access to information previously held by the technical 'priesthood', the engineers and computer systems administrators who controlled the mainframe computers of his time.

It has been noted that the development of everyday computing and the web has far exceeded the wildest speculation of visionaries such as Nelson. Reaching deep into the home, workplace and school, the web has become integral to the life experience of a significant portion of the world's population. For some it has, worryingly, become a substitute for real world experience - those addicted to "Second Life" for example, or even the surfers in constant communication with friends they may never meet in the flesh.