Today, November 12, 2008, is the 18th anniversary of the original proposal for the World Wide Web. Submitted on November 12, 1990 by Tim Berners-Lee, it reads like a very modest proposal for a small project. It goes without saying its impact on the world, let alone CERN.

This makes the Web “legal” in the US. It can vote and enter into a contract. And it’s only 3 years away from its first legal alcoholic drink.

Thinking back to where I was that day, I was most likely working on an IBM mainframe consulting assignment in Providence, Rhode Island. It would be another 6 years until I was developing Web sites commercially.

If the Web means anything to you, especially for those of us who make our living off of it, it is worthy of a quick read. There are a few things in it that will make you smile, and a few things that will make you think, think about the vision back then and how it has played out in less than 2 decades from its original presentation.

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