March 4, 2025 • 6 mins
Imagine a world with no internet. Head back 30 years or so and you’ll see how the world wide web changed everything about how we communicate, learn, bank, socialize, and entertain ourselves. And we have one kind of geeky guy to thank.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Do you ever wonder what it would be like if
you didn't have the Internet? I mean, really, we take
it regreted, but it has changed everything about how we
live our lives. Think about it, online, shopping, food delivery.
I love both of those. Social media, not to mention
sending email, paying bills, actually banking in general, news, education,
(00:20):
entertainment like music, movies, television, are all at our fingertips
because of the Internet. What would our lives be like
without it? Now? Consider this, The thing that gives us
easy access to all of this was developed by one
geeky guy who was a trainspotter as a little boy.
I'm Patty Steele tim berners Lee, the nerdy kid who
(00:41):
gave us the World Wide Web. Next on the backstory,
The backstory is back. I'm sitting here getting ready to
tell you a story about a guy born in London
in nineteen fifty five. I'm on an easy to master
laptop and I'm access seeing pages on multiple sites to
(01:02):
find the info I want to share with you. But wait,
if this was the early nineteen nineties or before, I'd
be slaving away at a library hoping the stories I
gathered from published books and magazines weren't out of date,
and by the way, you wouldn't even be able to
access a podcast. It actually gives me a chill to
think about how amazing our access to knowledge has become
(01:24):
because of the work of a guy named Tim berners Lee.
You may never have heard of him, but you have
heard of the stuff he developed to make the Internet
as ubiquitous to us as toothpaste. He invented all those
initials we see every day on our phones and laptops,
like url, http and www. He was born in London
(01:44):
in nineteen fifty five and like a lot of little boys,
he loved trains, but he made an incredible project out
of it, gathering info on frequency, number of cars and
how trains worked. That set him up as a researcher.
He also loved taking all kinds of things apart just
to understand how they worked, and computers, mostly just a
(02:04):
field for academics in those days, were interesting to him
because of his parents. They were both mathematicians and computer
scientists who worked on the very first commercial computer. So
Tim decided to build his own computer using a soldering iron, transmitters,
a processor, and an old TV. At eighteen, he went
(02:25):
to Oxford University, where he studied physics. Of course he did.
Then came the amazing part. His love for tinkering with
something until he made it work made him an innovative guy.
In nineteen eighty nine, Tim was focusing on finding an
information management system for computer to computer information. He created
(02:46):
the first successful communication between an HTTP client and a
server via the Internet, and he came up with and
implemented the first web browser and web server. By late
nineteen ninety, he gave us the first browser, the World
Wide Web and the first web server. His inaugural website
went live on December twentieth, nineteen ninety. On it, he
(03:09):
explained the Worldwide Web project and gave instructions on how
to use a browser and set up a web server.
He gave us the URL, a unique address given to
each resource on the Web, and also the HTML, the
standard language used to create and format web pages. All
of this led to the explosive growth of the Web,
(03:30):
but it wasn't easy getting his invention accepted again. At
the time, the Internet was mostly a tool for researchers
and academics. There wasn't much public access, but he kept
advocating for his work in a two thousand and nine interview,
he answered one common question, why do we need the
first two forward slashes in a web address? His answer, well,
(03:53):
actually they're unnecessary. I easily could have designed web addresses
without the slashes, But there you go. It seemed like
a good idea at the time. There you go. Indeed,
that's geek kumor. I guess. Tim made the decision to
release the web's underlying code with no patents and no
royalties for himself. That's amazing, allowing anyone to use and
(04:15):
build on it for free. That move was key in
the rapid and widespread adoption of the web. His commitment
to an open web has had a huge impact on society.
The World Wide Web has transformed how we access info,
conduct business, and connect with each other. It's given rise
to new industries, allowed knowledge to be shared by everyone,
(04:37):
and empowered people with that access and knowledge all over
the world. In two thousand and four, Tim was knighted
by Queen Elizabeth for his pioneering work. He was named
in Time Magazine's list of the one hundred most Important
People of the twentieth century. In a list of eighty
cultural moments that shaped the world, chosen by twenty five
(04:58):
renowned scientists, academics, writers and world leaders. The invention of
the Worldwide Web was ranked number one. They stated the
fastest growing communications medium of all time. The Internet has
changed the shape of modern life forever. We can connect
with each other instantly all over the world and Tim
(05:19):
berners Lee was honored as the inventor of the World
Wide Web. During the twenty twelve Summer Olympics, he appeared
working with an old next computer. He tweeted, this is
for everyone. Those words appeared in led lights attached to
the chairs of the audience in the stadium for the
opening ceremonies. Never underestimate a NERD. I hope you like
(05:49):
the Backstory with Patty Steele. I would love it if
you'd subscribe or follow for free to get new episodes
delivered automatically, and feel free to dm me if you
have a story you'd like me to cover. On Facebook,
It's Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm
Patty Steele. The Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks,
(06:10):
the Elvis Durand Group and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer
is Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new
episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free to reach out
to me with comments and even story suggestions on Instagram
at real Patty Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele.
Thanks for listening to the Backstory with Patty Steele, the
(06:31):
pieces of history you didn't know you needed to know.
Do you ever wonder what it would be like if
you didn't have the Internet? I mean, really, we take
it regreted, but it has changed everything about how we
live our lives. Think about it, online, shopping, food delivery.
I love both of those. Social media, not to mention
sending email, paying bills, actually banking in general, news, education,
(00:20):
entertainment like music, movies, television, are all at our fingertips
because of the Internet. What would our lives be like
without it? Now? Consider this, The thing that gives us
easy access to all of this was developed by one
geeky guy who was a trainspotter as a little boy.
I'm Patty Steele tim berners Lee, the nerdy kid who
(00:41):
gave us the World Wide Web. Next on the backstory,
The backstory is back. I'm sitting here getting ready to
tell you a story about a guy born in London
in nineteen fifty five. I'm on an easy to master
laptop and I'm access seeing pages on multiple sites to
(01:02):
find the info I want to share with you. But wait,
if this was the early nineteen nineties or before, I'd
be slaving away at a library hoping the stories I
gathered from published books and magazines weren't out of date,
and by the way, you wouldn't even be able to
access a podcast. It actually gives me a chill to
think about how amazing our access to knowledge has become
(01:24):
because of the work of a guy named Tim berners Lee.
You may never have heard of him, but you have
heard of the stuff he developed to make the Internet
as ubiquitous to us as toothpaste. He invented all those
initials we see every day on our phones and laptops,
like url, http and www. He was born in London
(01:44):
in nineteen fifty five and like a lot of little boys,
he loved trains, but he made an incredible project out
of it, gathering info on frequency, number of cars and
how trains worked. That set him up as a researcher.
He also loved taking all kinds of things apart just
to understand how they worked, and computers, mostly just a
(02:04):
field for academics in those days, were interesting to him
because of his parents. They were both mathematicians and computer
scientists who worked on the very first commercial computer. So
Tim decided to build his own computer using a soldering iron, transmitters,
a processor, and an old TV. At eighteen, he went
(02:25):
to Oxford University, where he studied physics. Of course he did.
Then came the amazing part. His love for tinkering with
something until he made it work made him an innovative guy.
In nineteen eighty nine, Tim was focusing on finding an
information management system for computer to computer information. He created
(02:46):
the first successful communication between an HTTP client and a
server via the Internet, and he came up with and
implemented the first web browser and web server. By late
nineteen ninety, he gave us the first browser, the World
Wide Web and the first web server. His inaugural website
went live on December twentieth, nineteen ninety. On it, he
(03:09):
explained the Worldwide Web project and gave instructions on how
to use a browser and set up a web server.
He gave us the URL, a unique address given to
each resource on the Web, and also the HTML, the
standard language used to create and format web pages. All
of this led to the explosive growth of the Web,
(03:30):
but it wasn't easy getting his invention accepted again. At
the time, the Internet was mostly a tool for researchers
and academics. There wasn't much public access, but he kept
advocating for his work in a two thousand and nine interview,
he answered one common question, why do we need the
first two forward slashes in a web address? His answer, well,
(03:53):
actually they're unnecessary. I easily could have designed web addresses
without the slashes, But there you go. It seemed like
a good idea at the time. There you go. Indeed,
that's geek kumor. I guess. Tim made the decision to
release the web's underlying code with no patents and no
royalties for himself. That's amazing, allowing anyone to use and
(04:15):
build on it for free. That move was key in
the rapid and widespread adoption of the web. His commitment
to an open web has had a huge impact on society.
The World Wide Web has transformed how we access info,
conduct business, and connect with each other. It's given rise
to new industries, allowed knowledge to be shared by everyone,
(04:37):
and empowered people with that access and knowledge all over
the world. In two thousand and four, Tim was knighted
by Queen Elizabeth for his pioneering work. He was named
in Time Magazine's list of the one hundred most Important
People of the twentieth century. In a list of eighty
cultural moments that shaped the world, chosen by twenty five
(04:58):
renowned scientists, academics, writers and world leaders. The invention of
the Worldwide Web was ranked number one. They stated the
fastest growing communications medium of all time. The Internet has
changed the shape of modern life forever. We can connect
with each other instantly all over the world and Tim
(05:19):
berners Lee was honored as the inventor of the World
Wide Web. During the twenty twelve Summer Olympics, he appeared
working with an old next computer. He tweeted, this is
for everyone. Those words appeared in led lights attached to
the chairs of the audience in the stadium for the
opening ceremonies. Never underestimate a NERD. I hope you like
(05:49):
the Backstory with Patty Steele. I would love it if
you'd subscribe or follow for free to get new episodes
delivered automatically, and feel free to dm me if you
have a story you'd like me to cover. On Facebook,
It's Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm
Patty Steele. The Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks,
(06:10):
the Elvis Durand Group and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer
is Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new
episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free to reach out
to me with comments and even story suggestions on Instagram
at real Patty Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele.
Thanks for listening to the Backstory with Patty Steele, the
(06:31):
pieces of history you didn't know you needed to know.
Host
Patty Steele
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