fields of study (psychology, cognitive science, architecture,
library science, etc.).
However, at the end of the day, making software always required
the skills of a software engineer. That changed in 1993 with the
launch of the Mosaic web browser, which brought to life Tim
Berners-Lee’s vision for the World Wide Web.
The web was an entirely new medium, designed from the ground
up around networks and virtuality. It presented a clean slate of
possibility, open to new forms of interaction, new interface
metaphors, and new possibilities for interactive visual
expression. More importantly, it was accessible to anyone who
wanted to create their own corner of the web, using nothing more
than the simple HyperText Markup Language (HTML).
From the beginning, web browsers always came with a “View
Source” capability that allowed anyone to see how a page was
constructed. This openness, combined with the low-learning
curve of HTML, meant a flood of new people with no background
in computer science or design began shaping how we interact
with the web.
The web hastened the information revolution and accelerated the
idea that “information wants to be free.” Free to share, free to
copy, and free of physicality. Microsoft Windows had distanced
software from the machine it ran on, but the web pushed
interactive environments into an entirely virtual realm. A website
could be accessed from any computer, regardless of size, type,
or brand.
By the mid-1990s Wired Magazine described web users as
Netizens, socializing in virtual reality was an aspiration, and
there was growing excitement that e-commerce could replace
brick-and-mortar stores. The narrative of progress in the late
20th century was tied to this triumph of the virtual over the
physical. The future of communication, culture, and economics