When Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989, he could hardly have foreseen just how popular his invention would come to be. In 2010, the number of Web users exceeded two billion,1 with over 100 million domains registered2 and, as of 2018, over 50 billion pages indexed by search engines.3

A woman sitting on a dock, holding a map beside her

We can all take a few steps towards improving the Web, for the good of the all of us. Here is a brief, non-exhaustive list of actions you can take to better the Web today!

Sharing / Social

  • Licence your work under a Creative Commons licence
  • Avoid plagiarism! Always link to the original source when you share content online, or provide some other attribution. Use Google Search by Image to find the source of images you want to share
  • Thank a content creator for their work, even if it’s a simple “thank you”
  • Pick a small, local business that has provided you with good service and share & discuss it with others! Go one step further, and leave them a glowing review on TripAdvisor or a similar review service
  • Check if your favourite blog or website has a Patreon or Flattr and make a small donation
  • “Like”, “upvote” or react positively to posts and submissions you enjoy or find useful across the Web
  • When you come across somebody new to a hobby you’re familiar with, link them to useful resources

Design

Charity

  • Help a local charity or non-profit with SEO or help to optimise their WordPress site
  • Support a project on Kickstarter, GoFundMe, Patreon or Flattr
  • Share a link to a charity’s donation page on your social media pages

Activism

  • Help people to find free, open source alternatives to software they know and love
  • Find out which politicians in your country, state or province support and oppose things such as Net Neutrality and a free Web generally
  • Stay calm and collected when you’re arguing with somebody you disagree with, even if the exchange becomes heated; Remember The Human! Encourage others to do likewise

Programming

  • Contribute to an open-source project on GitHub
  • Create an IFTTT applet and make it available to others
  • Create an extension for Chrome or add-on for Firefox
  • Help improve Firefox, the open source browser that supports a free and open Web, by becoming a Firefox beta tester
  • Provide SEO services to charities or the website of a local business for free

Humour / Funny

All it takes is a few, positive actions across the Web and it could be vastly improved overnight. Help make the Web a better place!

“Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world would do this, it would change the earth.”

References

[1] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-telecoms-internet/internet-users-to-exceed-2-billion-this-year-idUSTRE69I24720101019

[2] http://www.domaintools.com/internet-statistics/

[3] http://www.worldwidewebsize.com/