"The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect."
-Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the World Wide Web, CEO of W3C
The Web is a universal network that connects people from all around the globe. This has allowed us to communicate and interact in ways never before thought imaginable, but this universality requires us to consider a few things before we publish on the Web.
The popularity of blogs has soared in the past few years. For most, blogs allow people to post random thoughts, much like our less technologically inclined ancestors used journals and diaries. However, a key difference is that whereas a journal can be kept private, anybody can view what you have posted on the Internet. Take this into consideration when publishing web content. Do not post anything that you consider private unless you have a way to ensure the information's safety.
Because of the web's open and free nature, you also do have the choice of publishing anonymously. Technically, you can post whatever you want without ever having to be accountable for it. This affects you as both a producer and consumer of content. As a producer, you have a great amount of freedom in what you produce. You can pretty much say anything you like. However, because so many different groups of people utilize the Internet, just remember that not everybody will necessarily appreciate what you write. As a consumer, it is important to remember that what you see on the Internet is a result of someone else's choice to utilize the freedom of the Internet. Take what you see with a grain of salt, as there is little accountability on the Internet and no guarantee that anything is valid.
Remember that your audience on the Internet includes people of all ages and backgrounds. Have an idea of your intended or potential audience and build websites that cater to their needs. Making a website for kids? Make it colorful and playful. Keep the vocabulary simple and separate information into small chunks so they can remain attentive. If you are making a website for old people, make the text large and give it good contrast with the background for easy viewing.
There are many benefits to Internet authorship. The open structure allows people a very high level of freedom of speech, and as a result, people of all different interests are able to find each other and form different little groups and communities. This allows people to find other people with the same views, even though the general public might not agree with their views. Also, since the content of the Internet is a community effort, created by the people who use it, there is constantly new information being added. Because of this, we now have a resource on just about anything you could possibly think of.
However, there are downsides to all this. People finding their own communities may be a good idea, but it also promotes segregation and may help develop potentially "radical" views. Also, the level of anonymity on the Internet eliminates most of one's accountibility. You can post under any idendity you want to, anything you want to. So, despite allowing a nearly infinite amount of information to be available, you can't be sure that all of it is good information
Approach the Internet as a valuable resource. When you want information, you can have it, and you can have it almost instantly. Just simply be responsible, both as a creator and consumer of Internet content.