Hypermedia and the World-Wide Web

Hypermedia is an approach to information management in which data is stored in a network of nodes connected by links. The World-Wide Web is certainly the most successful hypermedia system, but it is interesting to note it emerged from a large body of work investigating ways to organise and manage large collections of information. Hypermedia is also known as hypertext, and grew out of research designed to augment the human intellect by creating tools that mimic the human minds ability to link pieces of information.

The recognised starting point for hypermedia research is the Memex system proposed by Vanevar Bush in his famous paper ‘As We May Think’. Memex was proposed as a ‘supplement to memory‘, a device where an individual could store books, records and communications for fast and flexible recall. In addition to storing information, Bush proposed that the Memex be able to associate items. It is this ability to associate information, as well as to store and retrieve it, which is recognised as being a defining characteristic of hypermedia. One of the most remarkable aspects of Memex is that its proposal predated digital information storage. Bush proposed a mechanical system using information stored on microfiche and recording user behaviour using a stylus and phonograph system. Revisiting this is a useful reminder that the problems we face organising information are not purely due to the availability of the Web – they are human problems.

The first implemented hypermedia system was Augment/NLS. This system was part of Douglas Engelbart’s work to develop systems that would augment human intelligence. Augment/NLS emerged from the Bootstrap project which sought to improve the way people worked by supporting collaborative working with online technology. Engelbart demonstrated his system at the famous ‘Mother of All Demos’ in 1968, which was the public debut of technologies such as the mouse and the hyperlink. The video recording of the demonstration is available online. The technology developed in this project lead to the adoption of the mouse, the graphical user-interface and the World-Wide Web. The great significance of this work is the premise that technology be used to augment human activity. Technology is not the end goal, rather it should improve existing or create new modes of human behaviour.

Ted Nelson‘s Xanadu system was another early system that has had a lot of influence on the thinking behind current hypermedia systems (and is itself a current hypermedia system, being an ongoing work in progress). The term hypertext was coined by Ted Nelson to refer to documents that could be distributed online. In particular, it was important to Nelson that documents be reusable. Reusability in this case meaning that documents should be annotatable and quotable without altering the original document or comprising the copyright of the original author.

A number of operational advantages to using hypertext were identified in the early days of hypertext research by Jeff Conklin. It is interesting to consider how current systems perform in each of these areas when thinking about why they’re successful.

• Ease of tracing references.
• Ease of creating new references.
• Information structuring. Links provide a way of structuring pieces of information.
• Global views. The link structures provide an effective mechanism for summarising hypermedia information.
• Customised documents. The link structure can be used to present different views of information.
• Modularity of information. Information can used in different ways as part of different link structures.
• Consistency of information. Using links allows information to be maintained in one place.
• Task stacking. Several trails of information can be explored simultaneously.
• Collaboration. Link structures can be shared and information can be managed by multiple people.

For example, consider Facebook and Twitter in terms of the following list. In which areas do they excel? In which areas do they fall short? In the areas they fall short, what possible innovations could occur to address these shortfalls? Which innovations can be done by a third party to add value to the existing technology? Which shortcomings could be exploited by a competitor?

The World-Wide Web emerged from a significant body of work into how information could be organised to support human activity. As most information is now available online, the focus has naturally moved to online technologies. The problem space is by no means closed though. Despite (or maybe because of) Google, Twitter and Facebook, people still face problems managing information in routine tasks. Remembering these are people problems, and seeking to find innovative ways to develop new and apply existing technologies to solving these people problems should be our focus as web developers and authours.