A Historiography of the Hyperlink: Periodizing the Web through the Changing Role of the Hyperlink
Anne Helmond · 2019
Following Allen's interpretation and critique of this narrative, Megan Ankerson proposes to 'put aside the discourse of versions and approach the web and web historiography as a site of ongoing configuration' by employing Lucy Suchman's notion of 'configuration' as 'a device for studying how material artifacts and cultural imaginaries are joined together' and how these are connected to specific production practices (Ankerson, 2015: 3).Similar to Ankerson's consideration of web historiography through forms of alignment and configuration, I approach my periodization of the web through one of the core infrastructural elements of the web, the hyperlink, by tracing its production and use practices within a view of the web as a complex social, techno-commercial configuration.Such focus does not aim to merely describe the technological progress of the hyperlink as a material artifact, but rather, to situate its development within the diverse practices of end-users, webmasters, bloggers, and developers within the context of the software, platforms, search engines, and apps that are involved in the creation, distribution and consumption of hyperlinks.At the same time, I consider the hyperlink's imagined capabilities by the actors involved in its production and distribution.Which social, political or economic purpose does the hyperlink serve for them?I argue that there is an ongoing -and sometimes conflicting-interpretation of what the hyperlink is