Week 3

This week, we'll be talking about some of the fundamental features of the Web, including technologies and protocols upon which the Web is built (and without which the Web couldn't function).


 * Let's start with a basic overview of  networks. Understanding the network structure of the Web is critical to understanding how our actions on the Web work.


 * Every time you visit a Web site by typing in a URL, you access a network of  nameservers that resolve that URL to a particular Web server. Nameservers are the backbone of the Web; without them those pretty URLs would be useless.


 * How often a day do you go to Google and enter a search term? How often do you think about what process is mediating the results you get? Take some time to learn a bit about how  search engines really work.


 * In the last ten years, we've seen a rise of the use of  rss and syndication as a means of sharing and re-publishing content on the Web. Learn a bit about how syndication works and how it challenges our understanding of "content."