Birthday of the web

I've been a professional journalist for almost three decades, and before that wrote for The Bridge over several years.

I've been during that time -- still am, in fact -- a writer, photographer, broadcaster, and magazine designer and publisher.

But perhaps the most exciting part of the mosaic of communication in which I have been both a producer and user is the Internet.

It's far-reaching, fun, and fascinating. Someday maybe I'll write about my own experiences with it in more detail. In the meantime, though, this thoughtful piece by another writer goes some of the way to sum up what the 'net has come to mean for so many of us. The comments from others to his piece are equally thought-provoking.

Tomorrow is the fifteenth anniversary of the birth of the World Wide Web. A moment which arguably was as important as the invention of the printing press, or the start of the Industrial Revolution. The 'Information Revolution', perhaps?

The BBC has produced an excellent timeline of the development of the web. Worth a read, because if you're reading this, you are part of it. The account on Wikipedia is also a good explanation.

And to put it in the Diary's perspective, this little site has now reached the stage where some 10,000 pages are being read every month, all by people from Kilcullen or who have some connection with our little, but fast-growing, town.

It is almost scary. But nice scary.

Brian Byrne.