| Okay, I didn't. But neither did Al Gore, who for | | | | world was small even before the WWW. But |
| some odd reason seems to be getting all the | | | | what was truly remarkable is that those days |
| credit for it. So, why shouldn't I? He has also | | | | you could correspond with someone on the |
| invented the global warming, although in this case | | | | WWW development team and this fellow would |
| he is trying to give the credit to all of us. Yeah, | | | | even like to know what you thought about the |
| how generous of him, but I am not taking it. Keep | | | | Web and how you would like to see it developed. |
| it, sir. You deserve it. And if you want to blame it | | | | Imagine these days getting an email from a guy |
| on your fellow men, don't also forget your fellow | | | | like that asking you what you think about the |
| cows. Yeah, they are apparently also behind this | | | | Web. I bet that your first reaction would be: "Help! |
| thing. (See my site for more appalling details...) I | | | | This guy is nuts! He wants to know what I think |
| have suspected it for a long time. I mean, how | | | | about the Web? How crazy is that?!" |
| else can you explain their coolness? Now I am | | | | The same year I discovered the WWW, only a |
| finally getting it. I must say they have been really | | | | few months later, I came to America to |
| good at it. Never trust a cow! | | | | complete my doctoral studies. At that time, the |
| Man, will I ever stop sidetracking?! Cows and the | | | | Internet in the US was still predominantly |
| Internet... I have heard about dogs on the | | | | concentrated around Academia, being organized |
| Internet, like in "on the Internet nobody knows | | | | into gophers. You could connect to them via |
| that you are a dog," but cows?! I am serious: I | | | | telnet or FTP. The Web was practically unknown, |
| am getting help tomorrow... | | | | even at universities, with the first web text |
| Okay, so now that you caught me lying about it, I | | | | browser, Lynx, yet to appear. When it finally did, |
| need to do some explaining. But please don't apply | | | | the Web popularity greatly increased. It was also |
| for a detective job at your local police station yet, | | | | then that I rediscovered the Web in the New |
| because I basically told you that. Which does not | | | | World. |
| necessarily make you a brilliant detective, but | | | | The first popular, although mostly in Academia, |
| rather it makes me a really lousy liar... | | | | graphical browser, Mosaic, was not good enough |
| Okay... Let me now sidetrack from sidetracking | | | | to compete with Lynx. Even on fast university |
| which will probably put me on the right track | | | | lines, it was slow like molasses. It was only |
| again. Or finally. That of explaining my egregious | | | | Netscape, the first commercial graphical browser, |
| lie. What do I have to excuse for it? I do have a | | | | developed largely by the same team which had |
| bit, I must say. | | | | developed Mosaic, that launched the Web |
| Namely, while I have already admitted that I had | | | | explosion. It was 1995 and it was now obvious |
| not invented it, I did discover it much sooner than | | | | that the Web was unstoppable. And yet, curiously |
| most people out there. And since "to discover" is | | | | enough, I was still getting emails from people |
| so often confused with "to invent..." Well, who am | | | | outside Academia asking me what the big deal |
| I kidding? Obviously, I did not confuse anything. | | | | about the WWW was. Or why was everyone |
| Yes, your honor, I am a stinking liar, but let me | | | | talking about it? |
| continue nevertheless. | | | | It was also in 1995, and in the same month in |
| In particular, I discovered the WWW sooner than | | | | which the Yahoo! boys appeared on the Web |
| 99.99999...% of other mortals, including the proud | | | | scene, that I created my first site, called |
| cow owners that, obviously, deserve to be | | | | Waldemar's List. The name was not my idea. It |
| mentioned separately. | | | | came from abroad, from a Canadian fellow, Allen. |
| While these days the World Wide Web is almost | | | | It was together with him that I started working |
| synonymous with the Internet, it was not always | | | | on this site, although the site idea was mine. It |
| like that. The WWW was connected to the | | | | was the directory of sites dedicated to futures |
| Internet in the summer of 1991. At that time, the | | | | and futures trading. |
| latter had already been around for two decades | | | | The beach was completely empty then. A site |
| or so. I was first exposed to the Internet in the | | | | that everyone now knows as Yahoo! could have |
| spring of 1991. It was through email which even | | | | been launched by virtually anyone. My site, a highly |
| these days is still the most popular form of the | | | | specialized directory dedicated to trading rather |
| Internet. | | | | esoteric financial instruments, was then considered |
| I was then a physics grad student at the | | | | a major financial directory and oftentimes listed |
| Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Poland. In those | | | | among top ten investing directories along with |
| days email was such a novelty that you could | | | | Yahoo! that was a directory for everything. |
| brag about using it. You would say, "Hey, I got an | | | | My collaboration with Allen was going on smoothly |
| email yesterday," and the fellow you mentioned | | | | and I was pleased with it. Allen was responsible |
| this to would go green with envy and a few | | | | mostly for the graphical aspect of the site while I |
| hours later would jump out of a window in his | | | | was taking care of collecting links and organizing |
| windowless apartment creating a brand new | | | | them. At some point, however, Allen got |
| window in the process of jumping out of it. That's | | | | frustrated by some changes I had made to his |
| why there are no windowless apartments in | | | | graphics and refused to participate in any further |
| Poland anymore. I put an end to them. Single | | | | work. What's even worse, he hijacked the site |
| handedly. Some people would go postal after I | | | | files and made it unavailable to the public. |
| mentioned using email to them. The most | | | | I don't know what made him so mad. Why |
| dedicated (or crazy) of them would travel long | | | | making changes was so unacceptable to him? And |
| hours by train to the nearest post office where | | | | those were small changes, nothing major at all. |
| no one had gone postal before. There would be | | | | After all, if one is to believe some French saying, |
| riots in the streets on the days I mentioned | | | | only cows do not change their mind. Hmm... Cows |
| receiving email to more than three people. | | | | and the French connection. What did I tell you |
| Yes, the beginnings of the Internet in Poland were | | | | about cows before? Didn't I tell you that they |
| definitely more turbulent than most historians | | | | should not be trusted? See... Was I ever wrong? |
| acknowledge these days. But then again, my | | | | His reaction was totally out of proportion and |
| account of it is much less politically correct. | | | | even though he finally came back to his senses, I |
| I discovered the WWW as early as 1992. I | | | | decided to continue working on Waldemar's List |
| believe it was in February or March and I learned | | | | entirely on my own. I did not use his graphics, but |
| about it from the most recent issue of Physics | | | | designed my own. That's how what was probably |
| World, a British physics monthly, that I could get | | | | the first American-Canadian web collaboration that |
| my hands on. After reading about it, I opened a | | | | lasted over a year ended up on the rocks. I was |
| telnet connection to it and there it was! Already | | | | saddened by it hoping to continue our work for |
| incredibly rich and very potent, but, obviously, not | | | | much longer, but nothing lasts forever. |
| nearly as rich and impressive as it is today. | | | | And neither did my site. I continued working on it |
| At that time the Web was a very local affair. For | | | | for a few more years, but was getting more and |
| two reasons. As limited mostly to physicists, the | | | | more bored with it and finally took it down in the |
| overwhelming majority of whom still had no clue | | | | summer of 2002. After over 7 years of web |
| that it even existed and local to Europe, having | | | | presence, my first site became history. I now |
| been invented in CERN, a European center for | | | | think that it was a premature decision, but I came |
| high energy physics in Geneva. | | | | to this realization only a few years later. |
| I immediately recognized how great this thing was | | | | In 1995 you could still know well all the interesting |
| to become and wanted to learn as much as | | | | or useful sites you had ever bookmarked. A year |
| possible about it. I contacted someone on the | | | | later that was becoming more and more wishful |
| team that worked on the WWW development. I | | | | thinking. In the computer lab I used to hang out in |
| still remember his first name: Jean Pierre. I | | | | those days, I would hear people say that they |
| remember it well because in my first few emails | | | | could not keep up with the Web growth anymore. |
| to him I would address him simply as "Jean." It | | | | At that time, I still could, but a year or so later I |
| took me a few days to realize that his was one | | | | too gave up. These days, I don't even try to. I |
| of those double French names like Jean Paul or | | | | am happy if I am able to manage my bookmarks |
| Jean Marie. Heck, they may even have names like | | | | in a reasonably efficient manner. |
| Jean Jean, Paul Paul, Pierre Pierre, Marie Marie, or | | | | The growth of the Web in the 90-ties was |
| perhaps even Pierre Pierre Pierre Pierre, but since | | | | phenomenal or rather phenomenally explosive. |
| I have really not checked this, please don't quote | | | | And it continues to grow. There are now over |
| me on it. I am really good at sidetracking not | | | | 100 million sites out there. |
| double checking. | | | | The Web of the 21st century is being increasingly |
| When I finally figured out that his first name was | | | | shaped by the paradigm of Web 2.0. However, |
| probably Jean Pierre, I asked him if it was so. | | | | there is hardly anything in Web 2.0 that would not |
| "Yes," came a reply. A very relieved reply | | | | have been known to the users of Web 1.0. The |
| because, as Jean Pierre told me, he had thought | | | | core technologies of Web 2.0 were largely |
| that his email had been getting through to me | | | | developed and already used in the era of Web |
| incorrectly. | | | | 1.0, the only major differences being in the |
| Apparently, those days people were still being | | | | intensity of their application and in their "mashing" |
| concerned that email could drop every other | | | | which is a newfangled word meaning the same as |
| word in the message. Like in "Are you really sure | | | | "convergence" and which can truly be attributed |
| that this will get through all and not just half of it? | | | | to Web 2.0. All that was, however, largely possible |
| And what if it drops every other word? Should I | | | | in the 90-ties, except that the bandwidth was still |
| send two copies of it? Do you think that two | | | | too limited for these technologies to converge |
| copies is better? Or maybe three? Okay, I am | | | | and become as ubiquitous as they are becoming |
| sending five. Man, I won't be able to fall asleep | | | | now, in the era of Web 2.0. |
| tonight, for sure!" | | | | And that is how, dear children, I have invented |
| It turned out that Jean Pierre and I had a mutual | | | | this Internet thing. |
| acquaintance who was working in my physics | | | | "Liar! |
| department in Cracow. Yes, in some circles the | | | | |