The Uncertain Web

Chapter 8. The Web We Want

The Web as I envisaged it, we have not seen it yet. The future is still so much bigger than the past.

— Tim Berners-Lee

In this book, I’ve poked around some places where the Web is a strange beast. As the title of the book will tell you, I’ve done so to help you manage the Web’s uncertainty. I’ve also done so in order to help the Web grow stronger. The more light we shine on the areas of the Open Web Platform that don’t work, the better prepared we’ll be as we build the Web moving forward. Sure, we may never be able to get a patent-free standard for web video, but that just gives us more motivation to make sure the Web comes out on top the next time a fight breaks out between the Web and entrenched commercial interests. We’ve got to expose the places where the process has fallen apart or fallen prey to unsavory interests in order to make sure we don’t make those same mistakes the next time.

This is how we continue to grow the Web and how we strengthen the web platform.

I truly believe in the quote that opens this chapter. The future of the Web is much bigger than the past. How much bigger comes down to people like you and me. With the changes we’re witnessing, there’s never been a better time to dive in and try to make a difference.

This chapter will look at where we’ve been in this book and some key points to take away as we spread off to the four corners of the globe to make the Web a better place for more people, on more devices, and in more browsers.