Thanks to Tim Maly for this pointer on Twitter (always enjoy his tweets):

Amazing historical piece on what we would come to know as the “open web” indeed.

Here’s the beginning:

2.10: The (Second Phase of the) Revolution Has Begun: “If this sounds wrong, consider Mosaic. Mosaic is the celebrated graphical ‘browser’ that allows users to travel through the world of electronic information using a point-and-click interface. Mosaic’s charming appearance encourages users to load their own documents onto the Net, including color photos, sound bites, video clips, and hypertext ‘links’ to other documents. By following the links – click, and the linked document appears – you can travel through the online world along paths of whim and intuition.”

In the age of increased suburbanization of the web via Facebook, mobile platform apps and video sites, it’s time to ponder what the third phase of the revolution will look like.

I’m pulling for the open web based on whimsical hyperlinks to once again rise to drive the same type of innovation and sharing that occurred in those silo’d days of CompuServe and Prodigy.

Oh, and a federated twitter built on RSS and real time pinging.

Here’s to the (non-silo’d) future.