The Future of the Web: An Old-Fashioned Debate With a Social Media Twist
Posted on May 23, 2008
Filed Under Web 2.0
TROY, N.Y., May 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — On June 11, leading
authorities on the World Wide Web will gather at Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute for an old-fashioned debate with a social media twist. The
questions for discussion will be shaped and selected by the collective
wisdom of Web users from around the world.
After delivering a keynote address, Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the
Web, will join a panel of experts from academia and industry for a public
discussion about the Web’s future. The content of the debate will be
collaboratively created by Web users, who can submit questions and promote
them through a user-based ranking system, similar to the community-based
news site Digg. The most popular questions will drive the discussion at the
June 11 debate.
The public debate, which will be streamed live via an interactive
Webcast, is part of a daylong event to celebrate the launch of the
Tetherless World Constellation at Rensselaer — a new academic center
devoted to the emerging field of Web Science.
A wide range of issues are up for discussion, from sustaining the
usefulness of the current Web to creating a next-generation Semantic Web,
as well as the role of politics, education, and sociological factors in the
Web’s continued evolution. Following introductory remarks by Rensselaer
President Shirley Ann Jackson, participants in the panel will be:
— Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the Web and director of the World Wide
Web Consortium
— Wendy Hall, vice president of the Association for Computing
Machinery and senior vice president of the Royal Academy of Engineering
— Nigel Shadbolt, former president of the British Computer Society and
chief technology officer of Garlik
— Nova Spivack, high-tech entrepreneur and founder of Radar Networks
— Deborah McGuinness, Web language expert and Rensselaer Constellation
Professor of the Tetherless World Constellation
— James Hendler, one of the inventors of the Semantic Web and
Rensselaer Constellation Professor of the Tetherless World Constellation
(moderator)
Members of the public are invited to submit and vote on questions until
the day of the debate. During the discussion, viewers will be able to
interact with the panelists by submitting follow-up questions and comments
in real time. For details about this innovative event and how you can
participate in the discussion, go to: http://tw.rpi.edu/launch.
Since its inception, the Web has changed the ways people work, play,
communicate, collaborate, and educate, according to James Hendler,
Constellation Professor of the Tetherless World Constellation at
Rensselaer. There is, however, a growing realization among researchers
across a number of disciplines that without new research aimed at
understanding the current, evolving, and potential Web, opportunities for
new and revolutionary capabilities may be missed or delayed.
“If we want to be able to model the Web, if we want to understand the
architectural principles that have provided for its growth, and if we want
to be sure that it supports the basic social values of trustworthiness,
personal control over information, and respect for social boundaries, then
we must pursue a research agenda that targets the Web and its use as a
primary focus of attention,” Hendler said.
The Tetherless World Constellation will address this emerging area of
Web Science, focusing on the Web and its future use. Faculty in the
constellation will explore the research and engineering principles that
underlie the Web, will enhance the Web’s reach beyond the desktop and
laptop computer, and will develop new technologies and languages that
expand the capabilities of the Web. They will use powerful scientific and
mathematical techniques from many disciplines to explore the modeling of
the Web from network- and information-centric views.
“Our goals will include making the next generation Web natural to use
while being responsive to the growing variety of policy and social needs,
whether in the area of privacy, intellectual property, general compliance,
or provenance,” Hendler said. For more information about the Tetherless
World Constellation, go to: http://tw.rpi.edu.
About Rensselaer
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1824, is the nation’s
oldest technological university. The university offers bachelor’s,
master’s, and doctoral degrees in engineering, the sciences, information
technology, architecture, management, and the humanities and social
sciences. Institute programs serve undergraduates, graduate students, and
working professionals around the world. Rensselaer faculty are known for
pre-eminence in research conducted in a wide range of fields, with
particular emphasis in biotechnology, nanotechnology, information
technology, and the media arts and technology. The Institute is well known
for its success in the transfer of technology from the laboratory to the
marketplace so that new discoveries and inventions benefit human life,
protect the environment, and strengthen economic development.
This news release was issued on behalf of Newswise(TM). For more
information, visit http://www.newswise.com.
SOURCE Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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