1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,320 Speaker 1: Do you ever wonder what it would be like if 2 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:05,080 Speaker 1: you didn't have the Internet? I mean, really, we take 3 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:08,119 Speaker 1: it regreted, but it has changed everything about how we 4 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:12,160 Speaker 1: live our lives. Think about it, online, shopping, food delivery. 5 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:14,920 Speaker 1: I love both of those. Social media, not to mention 6 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:20,119 Speaker 1: sending email, paying bills, actually banking in general, news, education, 7 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:24,360 Speaker 1: entertainment like music, movies, television, are all at our fingertips 8 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:27,680 Speaker 1: because of the Internet. What would our lives be like 9 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:31,120 Speaker 1: without it? Now? Consider this, The thing that gives us 10 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 1: easy access to all of this was developed by one 11 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:37,520 Speaker 1: geeky guy who was a trainspotter as a little boy. 12 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:41,800 Speaker 1: I'm Patty Steele tim berners Lee, the nerdy kid who 13 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:45,120 Speaker 1: gave us the World Wide Web. Next on the backstory, 14 00:00:49,159 --> 00:00:52,239 Speaker 1: The backstory is back. I'm sitting here getting ready to 15 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:55,200 Speaker 1: tell you a story about a guy born in London 16 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:58,400 Speaker 1: in nineteen fifty five. I'm on an easy to master 17 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 1: laptop and I'm access seeing pages on multiple sites to 18 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:04,959 Speaker 1: find the info I want to share with you. But wait, 19 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:08,199 Speaker 1: if this was the early nineteen nineties or before, I'd 20 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:11,200 Speaker 1: be slaving away at a library hoping the stories I 21 00:01:11,319 --> 00:01:14,559 Speaker 1: gathered from published books and magazines weren't out of date, 22 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:17,080 Speaker 1: and by the way, you wouldn't even be able to 23 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:20,240 Speaker 1: access a podcast. It actually gives me a chill to 24 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 1: think about how amazing our access to knowledge has become 25 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:27,039 Speaker 1: because of the work of a guy named Tim berners Lee. 26 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:29,399 Speaker 1: You may never have heard of him, but you have 27 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:31,960 Speaker 1: heard of the stuff he developed to make the Internet 28 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:36,319 Speaker 1: as ubiquitous to us as toothpaste. He invented all those 29 00:01:36,319 --> 00:01:39,399 Speaker 1: initials we see every day on our phones and laptops, 30 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:44,400 Speaker 1: like url, http and www. He was born in London 31 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:47,600 Speaker 1: in nineteen fifty five and like a lot of little boys, 32 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:50,800 Speaker 1: he loved trains, but he made an incredible project out 33 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:54,560 Speaker 1: of it, gathering info on frequency, number of cars and 34 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:57,680 Speaker 1: how trains worked. That set him up as a researcher. 35 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:01,160 Speaker 1: He also loved taking all kinds of things apart just 36 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 1: to understand how they worked, and computers, mostly just a 37 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:08,160 Speaker 1: field for academics in those days, were interesting to him 38 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:12,080 Speaker 1: because of his parents. They were both mathematicians and computer 39 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:16,360 Speaker 1: scientists who worked on the very first commercial computer. So 40 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:21,560 Speaker 1: Tim decided to build his own computer using a soldering iron, transmitters, 41 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:25,680 Speaker 1: a processor, and an old TV. At eighteen, he went 42 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:29,119 Speaker 1: to Oxford University, where he studied physics. Of course he did. 43 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:33,000 Speaker 1: Then came the amazing part. His love for tinkering with 44 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:36,720 Speaker 1: something until he made it work made him an innovative guy. 45 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:40,680 Speaker 1: In nineteen eighty nine, Tim was focusing on finding an 46 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:46,359 Speaker 1: information management system for computer to computer information. He created 47 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:51,360 Speaker 1: the first successful communication between an HTTP client and a 48 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:54,520 Speaker 1: server via the Internet, and he came up with and 49 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:57,839 Speaker 1: implemented the first web browser and web server. By late 50 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety, he gave us the first browser, the World 51 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:05,559 Speaker 1: Wide Web and the first web server. His inaugural website 52 00:03:05,639 --> 00:03:09,160 Speaker 1: went live on December twentieth, nineteen ninety. On it, he 53 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 1: explained the Worldwide Web project and gave instructions on how 54 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:15,080 Speaker 1: to use a browser and set up a web server. 55 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:18,640 Speaker 1: He gave us the URL, a unique address given to 56 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:22,440 Speaker 1: each resource on the Web, and also the HTML, the 57 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:26,560 Speaker 1: standard language used to create and format web pages. All 58 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:29,440 Speaker 1: of this led to the explosive growth of the Web, 59 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:33,760 Speaker 1: but it wasn't easy getting his invention accepted again. At 60 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 1: the time, the Internet was mostly a tool for researchers 61 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:41,400 Speaker 1: and academics. There wasn't much public access, but he kept 62 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:45,160 Speaker 1: advocating for his work in a two thousand and nine interview, 63 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:48,360 Speaker 1: he answered one common question, why do we need the 64 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 1: first two forward slashes in a web address? His answer, well, 65 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:57,200 Speaker 1: actually they're unnecessary. I easily could have designed web addresses 66 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:00,000 Speaker 1: without the slashes, But there you go. It seemed like 67 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 1: a good idea at the time. There you go. Indeed, 68 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:06,520 Speaker 1: that's geek kumor. I guess. Tim made the decision to 69 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 1: release the web's underlying code with no patents and no 70 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:15,120 Speaker 1: royalties for himself. That's amazing, allowing anyone to use and 71 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:18,560 Speaker 1: build on it for free. That move was key in 72 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 1: the rapid and widespread adoption of the web. His commitment 73 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:25,920 Speaker 1: to an open web has had a huge impact on society. 74 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:29,960 Speaker 1: The World Wide Web has transformed how we access info, 75 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:34,080 Speaker 1: conduct business, and connect with each other. It's given rise 76 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:37,480 Speaker 1: to new industries, allowed knowledge to be shared by everyone, 77 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 1: and empowered people with that access and knowledge all over 78 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:44,799 Speaker 1: the world. In two thousand and four, Tim was knighted 79 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:48,599 Speaker 1: by Queen Elizabeth for his pioneering work. He was named 80 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:51,720 Speaker 1: in Time Magazine's list of the one hundred most Important 81 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:55,040 Speaker 1: People of the twentieth century. In a list of eighty 82 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:58,680 Speaker 1: cultural moments that shaped the world, chosen by twenty five 83 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:03,240 Speaker 1: renowned scientists, academics, writers and world leaders. The invention of 84 00:05:03,279 --> 00:05:07,800 Speaker 1: the Worldwide Web was ranked number one. They stated the 85 00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:12,080 Speaker 1: fastest growing communications medium of all time. The Internet has 86 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:15,719 Speaker 1: changed the shape of modern life forever. We can connect 87 00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:19,400 Speaker 1: with each other instantly all over the world and Tim 88 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:22,400 Speaker 1: berners Lee was honored as the inventor of the World 89 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:26,320 Speaker 1: Wide Web. During the twenty twelve Summer Olympics, he appeared 90 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:30,240 Speaker 1: working with an old next computer. He tweeted, this is 91 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:34,680 Speaker 1: for everyone. Those words appeared in led lights attached to 92 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:37,359 Speaker 1: the chairs of the audience in the stadium for the 93 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:48,960 Speaker 1: opening ceremonies. Never underestimate a NERD. I hope you like 94 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:51,400 Speaker 1: the Backstory with Patty Steele. I would love it if 95 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:54,720 Speaker 1: you'd subscribe or follow for free to get new episodes 96 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:58,000 Speaker 1: delivered automatically, and feel free to dm me if you 97 00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:00,520 Speaker 1: have a story you'd like me to cover. On Facebook, 98 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:06,120 Speaker 1: It's Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm 99 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:10,720 Speaker 1: Patty Steele. The Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, 100 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:14,760 Speaker 1: the Elvis Durand Group and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer 101 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:18,120 Speaker 1: is Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new 102 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:21,680 Speaker 1: episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free to reach out 103 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:25,160 Speaker 1: to me with comments and even story suggestions on Instagram 104 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:28,400 Speaker 1: at real Patty Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. 105 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to the Backstory with Patty Steele, the 106 00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:34,760 Speaker 1: pieces of history you didn't know you needed to know.