From a World Wide Web to a World Wild Web? Indeed, for many of us, it seems the web has become the World Wild Web. What are the technical, economic, and human factors that have dramatically shaped the internet? The first article of this series, Critical Turning Point in the Transfer of Knowledge, gives us time for reflection about knowledge, gatekeepers, responsibility, and liability. The second article opened the door on The Web Black Hole, inspecting the evolution of communication and knowledge in our societies. In this third article, we consider the forces impacting our digital experience on the web.

The web has changed things forever for people who are able to access information and share things in a way not possible for a previous generation… It has provided a new dimension through which to communicate. The scale is vast, with billions of online users, hundreds of millions of messages and 20 million pictures exchanged every single minute - not to mention billions spent. But before plunging into a long monologue, take a break. For fascinating hypnotic experiences, check out the numbers flashing on the Internet Live Stats, and then visualize the internet as a new space on The Internet Spatialized by Louise Drulhe. Did I say hypnotic?

We generally think of the internet as a fountain of knowledge where we can go to wash away our ignorance about any subject, or like a climb to the mountaintop to listen to the wisdom of a sage imparting knowledge and information. When we say, as we watch the flow of information and knowledge, that we are witnesses to a global shift in consciousness, we are not exaggerating. Many say the web makes us smarter. Does it? Philosophers warn us about technology breaking knowledge transmission circuits, even a risk of a return to barbarism. Should we worry? How and why is knowledge transmission affected by the disruption of our socio-economic system? Has the transfer of knowledge become an impossible mission?