A guide to the wonders of the web and the internet

We are the web

"Many people find the complexities of the internet bewildering, but science and technology can help us to understand it better," says Robert. "That's the basic idea behind 'We are the web'. Development of a theme page about the internet is a good fit with our aim of giving people more control in our digital world, which the internet is an important part of. The name of our theme page was chosen to emphasise that it's people – all of us – that make up the web and the internet."

"On the theme of 'We are the web', we help our readers to understand how the internet came about, how it's constantly developing, and what challenges it brings. We do that by presenting popular science articles linked to 4 topic fields: online sustainability, where the web and the world meet, web guide and internet life in the future. We also investigate ways of making the internet better, and ideas for creating a more responsible internet for the future. Because we think it's important to look for solutions to problems such as device security and the high CO2 emissions associated with internet use. As well as background articles, we publish reports, short interviews, slideshows and quizzes. A nice example is the article Online is het nieuwe normaal ('Online is the new normal'), exploring how the internet is enriching and changing language. The article includes a quiz that you can do to test your knowledge of words such as 'cyberella', which means a female ICT specialist. Just recently, we also recorded an internet sustainability edition of our podcast Oplossing Gezocht ('Solution Wanted'), which will be available soon. Our content is aimed mainly at people aged 25 to 40 who want to know more about the digital world."

Collaboration with SIDN Fund and SIDN Labs

"SIDN Fund took the initiative for this project by reaching out to us. As soon as they suggested working together, we were up for it. The financial support from SIDN Fund and our partner COMMIT/ enabled us to develop the theme page and get a number of articles written. Both parties allow us scope to produce independent popular science material. Making important information available to the general public in an accessible form, as we're doing with this project, is very worthwhile. But SIDN Fund's contribution to our project goes well beyond financial support. For example, the Fund pointed us to an SIDN webinar, which inspired us to write about digital accessibility. And we've been working closely with the research team at SIDN Labs. We exchange ideas with them about significant technical developments associated with the current internet and the internet of the future."

Explaining the background to the Fund's involvement, Programme Manager Mieke van Heesewijk says, "SIDN Fund is supporting the 'We are the web' project because we want people to have more control in the digital world. The project involves the publication of constructive journalistic features on topics linked to building a responsible internet. One area the material focuses on is trends in technology. The articles also highlight the things that are being done to create a responsible internet for the future. The link-up with SIDN Labs gives NEMO Kennislink access to technical expertise and the opportunity to hear about key developments on the internet landscape. Ultimately, the intention is to share knowledge, so that people understand the internet better and are able to play a part in improving it."

Our internet's future

"In the period ahead, we'll press on with development of the theme page," Robert continues. "That'll involve regularly writing and publishing background articles and other content. Whereas the material we've put up so far focuses mainly on the internet's history, we now plan to shift our focus towards the internet's future and the associated problems and challenges. We also plan to look more at the internet infrastructure: the entire body of hardware and software that makes the movement of data traffic possible. A strong infrastructure is vital, because it ensures the security, speed and reliability of our internet. We'll continue knocking ideas around with the team at SIDN Labs and with the other researchers that Labs have put us in touch with. Approaching a theme from various angles like that enables us to keep developing new insights. By the end of this year, I want a significant number of people to know more about the internet, so that they understand it better and are in a position to improve it."

Visit the theme page at nemokennislink.nl/themas/wij-zijn-het-web or drop Robert Visscher a line at visscher@nemokennislink.nl.