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Happy 20th WWW. What's next?

Today is a significant day in the history of the Internet. On August 6, 1991, exactly twenty years ago, the World Wide Web became publicly available. Its creator, the now internationally known Tim Berners-Lee, posted a short summary of the project on the alt.hypertext newsgroup and gave birth to a new technology which would fundamentally change the world as we knew it.

The video above, created by Kate Ray, features a number of Internet pioneers and experts during the past 20 years including Tim Berners-Lee, Clay Shirky (author of 'Cognitive Surplus'), David Weinberger (author of 'The Cluetrain Manifesto'), etc. -- and also touches on the future including what many refer to as the Semantic Web.

The ~14 minute clip has flashes of insight, humor, nerdiness, history, and it reminds us of what can happen if we're too connected too much of the time. What do you think is in store for the next 20 years? Here's a related post to read and share.

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Remembering Challenger's creators

Twenty five years ago yesterday, January 28, 1986, is an unforgettable day. Twenty five years after NASA's first fatal in-flight accident, the memories of Challenger and crew are strong and vivid.

I was working at CBS TV in West Palm Beach, Florida in 1986; just getting started in my career during an exciting time. West Palm Beach is about 150 miles from the Kennedy Space Center so most NASA launches could be seen on the horizon with naked eyes, even from that distance. My father worked for Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies organization that provided support to NASA, so space missions were a big deal in our home and for the local community. And JFK's legacy was a strong force in the area because of his role in the NASA program, and the Kennedy home in Palm Beach was visited often by extended family. 

January 28th was a beautiful, crisp day with perfect visibility. I was at CBS, just before my shift started, watching live in the studio lobby with a vantage point to see the launch on TV and in the sky at the same time. After 73 seconds, it was immediately apparent that something went terribly wrong. It was a surreal and very sad moment.

Seven lives were lost in the Challenger explosion: Dick Scobee, commander; Michael J. Smith, pilot; Ellison Onizuka, mission specialist; Judy Resnik, mission specialist; Ron McNair, mission specialist; Gregory Jarvis, payload specialist; and Christa McAuliffe, payload specialist and teacher. The world mourned.

The Challenger crew were very special people. They gave everything in the spirit of science, innovation, education and a desire to create something good for humanity. I will always have fond memories of them and their achievements.

 

Hans Rosling illustrates global health and wealth trends from 200 years of data

This brief video clip is impressive. It gives you a sense of how the world's countries in 200 years have evolved from health and wealth perspectives. 

Hans Rosling, a doctor and researcher, is concerned with social and economic development. He is also a master at creating entertaining stories and useful insights from complex data. What's the connection between these health and wealth trends, and what does it mean for people from all walks of life going forward? There are a number of clues of things to come:

This may seem a little dated if you focus too much on the "2009" date in the video. But in the scheme of things (200 years of data), I think this is very timely as we head into 2011. What do you think?

The Living Climate Change initiative. Worth sharing for your kids.

I couldn't resist two nights in a row of IDEO posts. I think this topic is worth learning more about and sharing because we all have a stake in our climate, especially if you have children. Tune into Tim Brown's brief video about the Living Climate Change initiative: 

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