W3C Announces New CEO

A former executive with IBM and other tech companies has been named the new CEO of an organization in charge of coordinating the technical specifications behind the World Wide Web according to press reports released today

The Web’s inventor, Tim Berners-Lee, is remaining the director of the World Wide Web Consortium, which writes the technical rules designed to ensure that Web pages can work using different software, different computers and different languages.

In becoming the consortium’s CEO, Jeffrey Jaffe replaces Steve Bratt, 53, who left the position in mid-2009 to run a Web foundation also started by Berners-Lee.

Jaffe, 55, has been vice president of technology at IBM Corp. and most recently chief technology officer at Novell Inc. He also was an executive at Bell Labs.

Press Release

WOW Applauds the Call for a Digital Literacy and Cyber Security and Calls for Standards in Web Design

Many sites are cluttered, difficult to navigate and lack security

Folsom, CA, May 20, 2009 – The World Organization of Webmasters (WOW) applauds the Obama administration call for digital literacy, the appointment of a CTO and a Cyber Security Czar. Many business, education, and government entities require standards for Web design and development in terms of page and site maintenance as well as content and overall management. Although many websites meet these standards, too many key sites are cluttered, challenging for customers to use and navigate, and difficult to manage. Additionally, studies show that 50 percent of all websites are fundamentally flawed in security. Standards among entities are inconsistent or completely lacking.

These problems in computer-related system development are not new. They have been ongoing and even date back to the 1960s, according to Dr. Leon Adkison, WOW’s Education Advisory Board member.

The World Organization of Webmasters (WOW) believes that this trend of organized chaos must be stopped and is leading a campaign to bring consistency to Web design. As a first step, the organization is sending an open letter to business, industry and education (including students) detailing why set standards are critical to the success of the Web.

The organization is proposing that initially there should be an agreement by those directly involved in the creation and dissemination of Web content that standards are necessary. “Business, education, and government must agree that it is in their best interests to uphold these Web standards. Lacking this agreement, the Web will continue its current development path where only 25 percent of Web-related projects meet requirements and are developed on time and on budget.” said Adkison.

An area of such global importance cannot continue to pay the price of inefficiency. Websites today must accurately represent individuals and organizations across multiple platforms, devices, and browsers and they must do this in an environment that is both secure and readily accessible.

For additional details and an in-depth analysis of the problems and proposed solutions visit www.whywebstandards.org

The World Organization of Webmasters (WOW), a 12-year-old, not-for-profit organization, is striving to educate and train both individuals and organizations in creating, maintaining and managing Websites in an effective and efficient manner.