Posters can change the World (Wide Web)

 Could this be one of the most important conference posters ever?

This is a 1991 poster from the Hypertext meeting in San Antonio, Texas. That this dates back to the 1990s is perhaps one reason why, graphically, this poster is not much to look at.

But this poster is important because of its content. It’s one of the first times the concept of the World Wide Web was presented publicly. You know, the World Wide Web, which is what most people think as as the internet, the thing you are using to read this page right now.

And here’s the kicker: 

This was presented as a poster because it was rejected as a paper. One of the reviewers, Mark Frisse, explains why he recommended rejection and why he was happy to be wrong.

Never let it be said that work presented on posters is somehow less than the work presented as talks in academic conferences.

I added this one to the poster gallery.

Hat tip to Patrick McRay.