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Renowned Experts and Institutions Join Forces with Silicon Valley Leaders to Launch “PBS of the Web”
Major Institutions Join to Build and Advise on Development of the Digital Universe
SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. — January 16, 2006 — The Digital Universe Foundation today unveiled a growing alliance of institutions that have been either building or advising on the creation of the Digital Universe and its governance structure.
The Digital Universe is being developed by some of the most respected experts in the world, through a new public-private partnership founded and catalyzed by the technology platform and operating company, ManyOne Networks in partnership with the Digital Universe Foundation. Experts now involved work at leading universities, government agencies, non-profit institutions and select corporations, including:
- National Council for Science and the Environment
- World Resources Institute
- Boston University
- University of California at Berkeley
- ESRI
- Humane Society of the United States
- Joint Research Centre of the EU Comission
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography
- Oxford University
- University of Tokushima
- World Nuclear Organization
In the Digital Universe, ultimately tens of thousands of experts will guide the selection and creation of subject-specific “portals” — Web pages with new features such as 3D navigation and advanced information services. Portals will be interconnected into a visual navigation system, which will over time tie together thousands of ad-free portals and millions of the Web’s best links. Portals will be organized according to a scientifically-derived, visual representation of the society we live in, the Earth and the Universe. The result will be a simple, intuitive Web navigation interface that takes us far beyond the text-based directories of the Web today.
For example, many of these organizations are building the “Earth Portal” — a zoomable, pannable 3D replica of Earth upon which environmental, educational and entertainment content and socially-responsible commercial services may be explored and engaged by users everywhere. Two examples of participating organizations are National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE), the hub of a environmental scientist and educator network at over 140 universities from Stanford in the west to Yale in the east; and ESRI, the “Microsoft of Geographical Information Systems” serving more than 250,000 professional map makers around the world. Both are playing key roles in the development of the Earth Portal in partnership with the Digital Universe team. “The Earth Portal will present an historic and unprecedented vehicle for top experts in environmental and biological sciences to reach both the public and policy makers with the highest-quality information available, presented in compelling and simple ways,” said Dr. Cutler Cleveland, Chair of the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies at Boston University, and Chair of the coalition of scientists developing the Earth Portal and related portals spanning Earth’s environment.
Other organizations are building the “Cosmos Portal” — a 3D replica of our solar system and galaxy, enabling users to learn, play and communicate as they fly their browsers to Saturn to check out the latest mission news from NASA, or build a simulated city on the surface of Mars.
In the summer of 2005, the coalition building the “Health Portal” — featuring a 3D human body dressed with the best health-related links available — commenced its work. Though it will take time to completely build out these portals, they will offer ad-free expert content with perspective unmatched on the Web today.
The breakthrough visual “UniNav” of the Digital Universe enables users to explore these portals, preview thousands of other Digital Universe portals mapped for eventual creation in years to come, and even sign up to help build them. Unlike search engines, which provide an “index of the Web”, the Digital Universe is like a “table of contents of the best of the Web” — organizing the best links available as selected by world-renowned experts and responsible public contributors in each field.
Roadmap for Digital Universe
The pilot release of the Digital Universe is merely the kickoff of a multiyear project. The pilot release is literally about letting people “pilot” and get a feel for the way the Digital Universe portals will be discovered and used. It reveals the UniNav visual navigation system to explore existing and upcoming portals, and it previews the content and activities that will emerge month by month for years to come. One such content resource will be the Digital Universe Encyclopedia, being led by Dr. Larry Sanger, former co-founder of Wikipedia. A distributed editorial system is built into the ManyOne platform enabling expert and public contributions to portals simultaneously, while ensuring the kind of workflow needed to maintain the highest possible standards of content.
“The Encyclopedia project is a prime example of what the Digital Universe will do for portals in general,” said Dr. Sanger. “Imagine a time when you can travel a virtual Grand Canyon, fly through it, explore the best educational articles on its geology, join safe chat rooms, play related games and book your vacation. Imagine all of this without the intrusion of advertising, and all of it built as a collaboration between experts and the public. That vision will take time to realize, but it simply is inevitable. The Digital Universe and ManyOne are structured correctly to make this happen in the right, ethical way. It’s why I felt compelled to join this team.”
About Digital Universe
The Digital Universe is a network of advertising-free portals having many different kinds of information resources and services, ultimately on all subjects. It pioneers new 3D presentation capabilities, and organizes the portals into an easy-to-navigate visual classification system that immediately shows the relationships among topics, thereby encouraging exploration. Filling the Digital Universe with content will be the work of a worldwide network of stewards — researchers, scholars and educators with expertise and a desire to disseminate knowledge — with contributions from the public. Constructing the Digital Universe is a years-long, open-ended project that will evolve over decades into what will ultimately be the "PBS of the Web". The project was inspired by the "Encyclopedia Galactica" envisioned by Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan.
The stewardship program and other Digital Universe activities are the responsibility of the non-profit Digital Universe Foundation. For more information, visit www.digitaluniverse.net.
About ManyOne Networks
ManyOne is a vehicle for people and organizations to collaborate in the creation of a new, socially responsible information medium. ManyOne and its partners are pioneering new ways for people to learn about our world and universe, communicate, work and trade with each other and experience each others' talents. ManyOne's vision is to fulfill the original potential of the Internet as an open, democratic medium that inspires creativity, communication, collaboration and education. The organization is working with a growing alliance of partners worldwide to evolve a dazzling new kind of Web experience.
ManyOne embodies a new standard of social responsibility in governance, objectives and conduct for for-profit companies. For more information about ManyOne Networks, visit www.manyone.net.
ManyOne, Digital Universe and Digital Universe Foundation are trademarks of ManyOne. All other registered or unregistered trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners.
Press Contact:
Gary Byrd
FortyThree, Inc.
ManyOne@fortythreepr.com
831.621.3773
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