Wired has declared “the web is dead.” We will look at several technologies and information systems that have died (or are on life support) — pigeon post, the area code — and others that are thriving — mobile applications, cable, World of Warcraft — and try to figure out whether the web is going the way of the dodo. Will our grandchildren know what a URL is? We will connect the web to ideas of location and ask: what is the meaning of place, in the digital age?

Slides from this lecture are available at http://www.ischool.berkeley.edu/newsandevents/events/20101027bahat