Vision: Web on Everything

• The web is born global
• One Web Paradigm ...
  ... where Web technologies provide the means of accessing and interacting with content via all devices, including computing, communications, entertainment, embedded, personal, home, transportation, industrial, health care, etc. systems
  … worldwide.

W3C to enable global Leadership and Cooperation for the Web

Expanding base of the world's leading technology organizations and technologists

• Driven by 400 W3C Members, including most of the world's leading IT providers and many major IT users
• 65 Member-neutral Technical Staff
• 40 Liaisons with other international standards bodies
• Accountable to the Global Public

W3C Membership by Country (Mar 2006)

Risks for the Web

• Fragmentation by ignoring Web architecture
• Open a parallel world
• Destroy momentum by the two above

Research & the Web

• In FP6 lots of Research with Web connections
• Some rules apply:
  • Use URIs for addressing
  • Respect the installed base
  • Rough consensus and running code
• Some projects very good and visible on a global scale

The industry has a role to play

• EU industry reluctant to influence at global level
• Economic network-effects not yet understood
• Development and standardization often go hand in hand
• Often stop after 4 years just before breakthrough

W3C reaction on research

• Projects can become W3C Member
• Creation of Incubator Activity for lightweight process
• W3C staff is doing research and cutting edge technologies
• Hosted by research institution ERCIM

Conclusion

Europe has a lot to contribute if it has the courage to go global

• Rigo Wenning
  W3C/ERCIM
  <rigo@w3.org>
  Sophia-Antipolis/France