Sidebar: Setting Web Standards

By Robert L. Mitchell

November 22, 2004 12:00 PM ET

Computerworld - Tim Berners-Lee is the creator of the World Wide Web and founder and director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) in Cambridge, Mass. Berners-Lee is currently working on the Semantic Web, a framework for making Web content understandable by machines as well as people. In an interview conducted via e-mail with Robert L. Mitchell, he discussed the W3C and the challenges of developing standards.

Why did the world need the W3C -- yet another standards group? There was not a group that was ready to focus on the layers of technology above the protocols layer that could draw upon the right communities of users. W3C appeared at a time when some of the most serious concerns had to do with fragmentation of the basic Web technologies, namely HTML, and we had to find a way to bring the actors to the table for the greater good.

Prior to founding the W3C, you first took HTML to the IETF. Why didn't it work out? I did start by taking HTML to the IETF, as I had been involved with the IETF for Internet protocols. That didn't work out largely because the people with markup experience were a different set: They joined the later W3C HTML Working Group when it was formed, which was very successful in bringing the fragmented HTML versions back to a single standard.

Why are there so many consortia and vendor groups promoting their own standards today? Recognizing that standards are now what customers demand, we see more of these marketing initiatives launched under the name of "standard." And of course, it makes sense that vendors might want to ensure that they can exert as much control as possible over the development of a standard -- they're going to have to make products that conform. If a vendor group can control both the technical development and the marketing, then it's more appealing to the vendor -- but not necessarily to the customer.
If you look at the rate of creation of new fora of the type which are formed by a few controlling founders, then in fact this is not new -- it has been happening for a long time. Many of these are being formed as a marketing exercise, to build up some brand recognition. I don't think there is anything wrong with that, per se, except when it gets labeled a standard.

Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the World Wide Web and founder and director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

How do you think the world has changed in terms of what it takes to create a standard?

Recommend Digg Twitter ShareThis

Email Print Send Feedback Reprints

Additional Resources

Xerox

Win a color printer!

By using solid ink technology only from Xerox, you could save up to 65% by printing color for the cost of black and white. Enter for a chance to WIN a PhaserTM 8860 network color printer!

Microsoft

Upgrade to Internet Explorer 8 today.

Save time and mitigate security risk. Deploy it now.

Sybase

NEXT-GENERATION MOBILITY PLATFORMS

In this white paper, IDC analyzes the role of next-generation mobile enterprise platforms as organizations seek a more strategic deployment of mobile solutions.

Learn the important issues you must consider before starting your next mobility initiative. Get your mobility white paper from IDC now, compliments of Sybase.

White Papers & Webcasts

Accelerate SSL Encrypted Applications
The amount of SSL traffic is growing in the enterprise. Because it is encrypted, it cannot be properly controlled and accelerated. Blue Coat...

Usability Is Everything
Learn what sets Workday's HR and Payroll solutions apart from the competition....

ESG Lab Field Audit
Many companies have successfully implemented Riverbed WAN optimization solutions within their Cisco networks. This ESG Lab Field Audit document explores the success that...

The Value of Real SaaS at Workday
Cost savings, speed to value, and innovation brought to the enterprise by Workday's software-as-a-service solutions for HR and Payroll....

Shape Your Apps Strategy to Reflect New SaaS Licensing and Pricing Trends
Why are smart companies choosing software-as-a-service? Find out in the complimentary Forrester Research report...

SaaS at Flextronics, Inc.
Dave Smoley, CIO of Flextronics, discusses the real value of software-as-a-service and why he chose Workday for his HR solution....

Natural User Interface for Enterprise Applications
Learn how a revolutionary user interface can make a complex enterprise application so intuitive even casual users can jump right in....

Why Compliance Pays
This OnDemand webcast explores the relationship that firms with best compliance records have higher revenue, greater customer retention, lower financial losses from data...

A Truly Global HCM System
Learn about a system built with advanced object-oriented technology that support multi-national requirements and costs less to implement, maintain and upgrade....

Agile Enterprise Content Management (ECM) for Rapid ROI
Find out how combining ECM and BPM will help adress issues about content rich business processes....

All White Papers | All Webcasts