week 2 - HTML fundamentals.

I find it interesting that Theodor Holm Nelson's concept of Xanadu was far removed from what we now consider the internet. The idea of a freely structured, decentralised internet is somewhat strange to think about, given that much of it today is only accessible through specific web browsers. For example, Google controls 78.83% of the global desktop search market (Bianchi, T., 2025). Hypertext, as Nelson envisioned, has instead reached a state of homogenisation, where most content in specific categories, e.g. music, is controlled by large corporations. Spotify possesses a hefty market share of 31.7, more than double the market share of those subscribed to Tencent Music which occupies second place (Leu, P., 2024). As a result, users have little choice but to rely on these monopolies to access information, making the digital landscape highly restrictive. This is contrary to Nelson’s vision of a system that would set us free (Moulthrop, S., 2003). Update: I find the idea of Xanadu to be similar to blockchain, though there are key differences in how they function. Both store permanent records, creating new versions of files dynamically while preserving previous data. Additionally, both distribute information across a network rather than relying on a central server, meaning that records cannot simply be deleted—a copy will always exist somewhere on the network. However, one major difference is that blockchain requires network consensus for permanent changes, whereas Xanadu stores documents independently of each other. This approach is similar to GitHub’s version control system, where past versions remain accessible. From an academic perspective, Xanadu could have revolutionised knowledge storage and referencing, making citations and data permanence much more reliable than today's systems. Additionally, it could have prevented the corporate monopolisation of search engines, such as Google's dominance. Given Xanadu's focus on decentralising knowledge and promoting shared ownership, one could argue that its ideals align somewhat with Marxist principles. It envisioned an alternative digital economy, where knowledge was freely available to all, rather than being controlled by a few powerful entities. In that sense, Xanadu may have provided a more equitable model than today’s internet. However, it is important to note that Xanadu was never fully realised, and its vision remains largely theoretical, making it difficult to assess its practical implications in the real world. Yet perhaps flickers of Xanadu still linger, not in the internet’s structure, but in fragments of its ethos. Platforms like Wikipedia, GitHub, and the open-source movement echo its principles of shared ownership, even if imperfectly. The persistence of decentralised technologies, like blockchain and IPFS, suggests that the desire for alternative digital futures remains alive, albeit fragmented and contested

References