Inventor of the ‘World Wide Web’
History
In the 1980s, Oxford-grad Tim Berners-Lee worked as an independent contractor at the nuclear research organisation CERN in Switzerland. At CERN, scientists around the world exchanged information using their own computer systems, which created a very heterogeneous environment not conducive to scientific collaboration.
Lee decided to solve the problem by creating a single information resource system for the entire organisation.
In March 1989 he proposed a management system ‘ENQUIRE’ :
Hypertext: System of interconnected texts referencing one another. With the help of ‘hyperlinks’ in these texts, a user could simply move from one text to the other.
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP): TCP is a transport system that connects two computers- a ‘client’ with a ‘server’, to help transfer data between them.
Domain Name System (DNS): Every computer connected to the system is a specific ‘domain name’. It’s difficult to remember IP address 19.152.1.112, so a domain name like ‘Google.com’ helps ease identification.
With these 3 ideas combined, Lee wasn’t just able to look at a single scientific database, but explore a whole variety of databases across CERN’s global network, each interlinked with one another using hypertext.
Tim Berners-Lee coined the term WorldWideWeb for this network, and on 6th August 1991, the first website- www.info.cern.ch went live on the internet.
The World Wide Web != Internet
The Internet is how computers connect to share information. Remember when your phones rang every time you used dial-up internet? That was your phone line establishing a connection so the computers connected to them can send information.
The World Wide Web is a network of websites built on top of the internet. Think of a computer connected to the internet as a skyscraper. When you build a website on the internet, you’re renting a room in that skyscraper.
What makes the World Wide Web so special lies in its very name- before the web, we consumed information linearly, like reading a single book. But that’s not how the human brain works. Our thoughts are interlinked, each leading to the other like loosely connected webs.
Tim Berners realised this ‘mind-map’ of information sharing could be a powerful collaborative tool on the internet.
Before websites, the internet was an obscure platform used by governments with very limited access to the defence departments and a few academics.
The World Wide Web made the internet accessible to common people - anybody with a computer and a functioning Internet would now be able to share and host information- just like renting a room in the many skyscrapers of a city.
Since nobody owns a city, Tim Berners decided no one person should own the World Wide Web. In 1994, Lee founded the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) at MIT to share the source code for his idea without any patents and royalties.
The W3C decided that the technology be royalty-free, so it could easily be adopted by anyone, and would thus make the internet an open and democratic platform.
Oh BTW, it’s 'Sir' Tim Berners-Lee for us
In 2004, Berners-Lee was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to the modern-day internet and is the recipient of the Turing Award, often called the Nobel Prize for Computer Science.
He was also honoured as the "Inventor of the World Wide Web" during the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony where he tweeted- ‘This is for everyone’ which was displayed with LCDs attached to the chairs of audiences.
Recently, Sir Lee began working on an open-source project, Solid and later founded a company, Inrupt. With Solid-Inrupt, Lee aims to give individuals greater autonomy over their data and facilitate a more decentralised ecosystem.
To date, Sir Lee remains to be one of the most prominent voices for net neutrality, criticising the giants like Google and Facebook for attempts at centralisation.
While decentralising the internet would be a monumental task, Sir Lee certainly seems like the best person for the job.
Sony-Zee merger: Making of TV’s next supremo?
Business
Last week, Zee Entertainment Limited (Zee) announced its merger with Sony Pictures Networks India (Sony India). This move is likely to disrupt the domestic broadcasting sector, with the combined entity now commanding the highest market share in terms of viewership.
Following a regulatory nod, Sony India will hold a majority stake of 52.93% in the merged company, while the remaining 47.07% will belong to the existing ZEE investors.
The Sony-Zee kingdom
The combined entity of Zee and Sony India is no pushover. With the merged company’s deep pockets and wide distribution network, it will be difficult for other players of the Indian TV industry to ignore the beast in making.
USD 1.57 billion - Sony India’s investment in ZEE to catalyze its growth - the largest deal in Indian TV history
75 TV channels across 10 languages
2 OTT channels - ZEE5 and SonyLIV
2 film studios - ZEE Studios and Sony Pictures Films India
Disney facing the heat
Thus far, Disney India had raced ahead of its broadcasting peers by a huge distance, courtesy of the success of its STAR channels. However, with ZEE and Sony India’s merger, Disney is now at risk of slipping to the second position.
A bloody IPL bidding war to follow
The success of Disney + Hotstar is largely owed to its IPL broadcasting rights. However, the OTT platform’s contract with BCCI is up for renewal in 2022.
This time around, there are several bigwigs of the TV industry vying for this coveted prize! The list includes Reliance’s Jio, Disney+Hotstar, Amazon Prime, and ZEE-Sony - all incumbents sitting on a heavy war chest of cash.
The industry analysts expect a fierce battle to be fought for the golden goose i.e., IPL broadcasting + digital rights.
Happy investors
Retail and institutional investors lapped up the shares of Zee following the merger announcement.
After a long dry spell at the Indian bourses, Zee is now posting returns of 30% and above! The investors are betting on the mere size and reach of the combined company, along with its digital OTT capabilities and heavy cash pile, to boost growth in the coming days.
Ace investor Rakhesh Jhunjhunwala recorded profits of INR 60 Crores after buying 50 lakh shares of Zee just nine days before the merger announcement!
Recent Shenanigans at Zee
Before the merger announcement, news surfaced that the company’s investors are pushing for the removal of its CEO, Punit Goenka, over corporate governance issues. For the uninitiated, Punit Goenka is the son of Subash Chandra who is the chairman of Essel group and founder of Zee Entertainment Limited.
In 2019, the family sold the majority of its stake to pay off debts at Essel group, but Punit Goenka continued to remain at the helm of the company as the CEO despite a minority stake.
With complaints of corporate governance, dipping market share, and non-performance of the company’s stocks, Zee’s single largest investor - Invesco Oppenheimer - called for an extraordinary general meeting to oust Punit Goenka as the CEO.
Amidst these media reports, Zee announced the merger deal with Sony India taking everyone by surprise. But what raised eyebrows was the decision to continue Punit Goenka as the CEO of the merged entity!
What's next?
The combined entity of Zee and Sony India is a powerhouse that comes with all ingredients for disruption. What remains to be seen is how they capitalize on this partnership to their advantage! One will have to wait and watch how the rest of the players in the TV broadcasting industry would respond to this development.
What do you think will happen in the next coming weeks?
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