The Creator of the Hyperlink Says the Web's Been Done All Wrong

Imagine if, while in college, you realized how to create solar powered cars that would solve a major part of the world's oil dependency. You took the idea to Detroit, the manufacturers thanked you for your research paper, and all they did with it was use your solar energy implementation to power car stereos. That's how Ted Nelson feels about the Web and hyperlinks. His original proposal was for hyperlinks to be two-way associations, not the one-way affair we have today, and he's been fighting to get the world back on track with his Xanadu project ever since. But Nelson's opinions go way beyond hyperlinks, starting with our common use of the word "technology."

WVW: We have these ad campaigns like “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” telling us that no, really, some things do work. But do they? Has technology improved?

Nelson: My first quarrel is with the use of the word “technology.” The word “technology” is the most misunderstood concept there is. Most of what is called technology is packaging and convention. You talk about “Macintosh technology.” There is no Macintosh technology. It’s all packaging and conventions. There is no Windows technology or World Wide Web technology. The technology is TCP/IP and computer hardware displaying graphics. That all gets packaged into Facebook and email and similar things. There’s a political packaging issue whittled from the technology. Ninety percent of the use of the word “technology” refers to these packages, and because we don’t make this distinction, people are totally confused about what’s happening in the world.

WVW: So we’re paying attention to the names, not what’s underneath them.

Nelson: We’re like babies and puppy dogs. A new box is open, here comes the same thing in a different color with its head upside-down or something, and—“Oh, this is just fantastic!”—but it’s just some minor variation on what we’ve seen before. So the problem is that the public imagination is stifled.