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The Virtual Revolution Episode 1 Part 3.wmv
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The Virtual Revolution Episode 1 Part 3.wmv

Campaigning for Civil Rights and the Birth of Ushahidi

The Context of Violence in Kenya

  • The speaker discusses their initial involvement in civil rights campaigning in Kenya, which intensified after the violent aftermath of the 2008 elections.
  • They recount their personal experience voting for the first time, highlighting the emotional significance amidst a highly contested election.
  • The fallout from disputed election results led to tribal violence, with citizens sharing information that was not being covered by official media.

Creation of Ushahidi

  • In response to the lack of coverage, the speaker formed a team to create Ushahidi, meaning "witness" in Swahili. This platform allowed ordinary people to report attacks and document events in real-time.
  • The unexpected attention on Ushahidi revealed a significant need for such platforms, emphasizing its potential as a tool for citizen reporting.

The Power of the Web

  • The web's ability to amplify individual voices is described as unprecedented, likening it to historical shifts like the invention of the printing press.
  • A distinction is made between "the web" (links and pages) and "the internet" (the underlying infrastructure), tracing internet origins back to military and university collaborations in the 1960s.

The Development of the World Wide Web

Early Challenges

  • Accessing information on early networks was difficult; users needed specific knowledge about data storage locations.
  • Before modern websites, online experiences were limited to isolated segments of cyberspace.

Tim Berners-Lee's Innovation

  • Tim Berners-Lee developed a system at CERN aimed at linking disparate computer systems used by an international workforce.
  • His proposal from 1989 focused on improving information management across different software environments.

Launching the First Website

  • Berners-Lee’s project culminated in launching the first website on August 6, 1991. He humorously describes this moment as both thrilling and chaotic.
  • His innovation combined hypertext with internet protocols, creating a universal means for connecting documents globally.

The Impact of the Web: A New Era of Connectivity

The Birth of the Web and HTML

  • The web was created using HTML, a universal language that allowed for linking between web pages across networked computers, solving a significant technical problem.
  • This innovation opened up vast information access to anyone with a computer, likened to a "Brave New World" and a new form of democracy.
  • The development is compared to Gutenberg's printing press in 1450, emphasizing the historical significance of widespread connectivity and information sharing.

Empowerment Through Connectivity

  • Individuals like Kujo Agavi, a Ghanaian farmer, illustrate how the internet empowers users by providing knowledge on efficient crop management and market competition.
  • Kujo learned to use the internet through friends, enabling him to find commodity prices quickly and manage his produce more effectively.
  • He expresses feeling more connected to the world due to these advancements facilitated by the web.

Structure and Authority Resistance

  • The design of the web inherently resists authority, aiming to provide equal access for all users regardless of their background or status.
Playlists: The Virtual Revolution BBC Episodes
Video description

The Virtual Revolution Episode 1: Explores the origins, history and impact of the Internet and World Wide Web (WWW). From its Cold-War military origins in the 1950;s, through its evolution as a meeting place of the 1960s hippy/libertarian movement, to its modern-day incarnation through the genius of Tim Berners-Lee and other like minded pioneers. The Internet/WWW is seen as powering the 2nd Industrial Revolution; its impact on humanity as profound as Guttenbergs Printing Press, or the power of Steam to the original Industrial Revolution.