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Source: Tim Berners-Lee laments state of the web but offers hope for travel brands | PhocusWire

When the Internets Creator says the Web is broken, the world listens!

This article chronicles statements made by Tim Brenner at a recent Seminar. It consider the impact of what has happened and its implication for travel and tourism.

A Manipulative and Un-Trustworthy Web

Tim Breners-Lee, inventor of the Word Wide Web is worried. He explains that the World Wide Web he started was 0pen and collaborative. Today he sees it  as manipulative and un-trustworthy.

In his presentation at the Amadeus T3CH event in Madrid, Spain, he says that “it is far from how it started with people having their own sites and linking to other blogs they liked.” In those days he tells us ” I would make a blog as good as possible, people would reward me for it by linking to it. The biosphere spread good links by curation and humanity became this wonderfully collaborative space.”

The Internet’s Biggest Sin

Unfortunately this wonderfully collaborative space is not what has happened today. Berners-Lee notes that algorithms now determine what we read in social media and on the Internet”.  It has become to centralised and driven by advertising rather than peoples needs. The ad-based revenue model may be the Internet’s “biggest sin.” It portrays a feeling that everything is free but we are all paying a high price for persuasion at the expense of authenticity and privacy in ways we hardly know.

Berners-Lee suggests that the solution to today excesses is to return to decentralization the network. This gives consumers control of their data and access to it. Not that it should not be used, but giving control to the owner puts the brakes on how it might be manipulated and used to manipulate others.

The Future is Personally-Positive for Travel

Travel is Personal so lets Personalize the Experience to the Travelers Persona

Giving controll back to content owners has positive implications for travel where he sees travelers being able to store information on passports, travel preferences and past and upcoming trips on a Solid Pod. This could also give OTAs and travel companies better access to knowledge that can help in personalizing the vacation experience and planning process and offering travelers specific personal recommendations.

Read more about it at Tim Berners-Lee laments state of the web but offers hope for travel brands | PhocusWire