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Sat, Jul 28 2012 18:15:17
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Entertainment

NBC vs. Tim Berners-Lee: Twitter Responds

The London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony featured a tribute to Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the founder of the world wide web, to which Meredith Vieira and Matt Lauer, NBC's hosts, responded: "If you haven't heard of him, we haven't either."

  1. Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, and a NeXT cube during the opening ceremonies for the 2012 Olympics in London. Background here and here.
    buzz
    ·
    Sat, Jul 28 2012 07:00:49
  2. weeddude
    Weed Dude@weeddude
    RT @ethanklapper: Ugh. Meredith, on Tim Berners-Lee: "If you haven't heard of him, we haven't either." What a shameful comment.
    Fri, Jul 27 2012 17:57:11
  3. AntDeRosa
    Anthony De Rosa@AntDeRosa
    RT @ethanklapper: WATCH: Meredith Vieira doesn't know who Tim Berners-Lee is (fixed) soup.ps/Mc1KTc
    Fri, Jul 27 2012 18:15:09
  4. Meredith Vieira Doesn't Know Who T...
    Meredith Vieira Doesn't Know Who Tim Berners-Lee Is: The guy created the World Wide Web. From London Olympics Opening Ceremony, July 27, ...
    ethanklapper
  5. Penenberg
    Adam L. Penenberg@Penenberg
    RT @moorehn: OMG. The vaunted NBC "context" is that these two don't know who Tim Berners-Lee is. Appropriate since NBC hates the Internet.
    Fri, Jul 27 2012 18:07:07
  6. webjournalist
    Robert Hernandez@webjournalist
    .@NBC co-host of #Olympics opening ceremony says she has never heard of Tim Berners-Lee ... oh the irony. Oh the painful irony.
    Fri, Jul 27 2012 18:57:32
  7. While Meredith Vieira and Matt Lauer didn't know who Sir Tim was, many others clearly do.
  8. rachelsklar
    rachelsklar@rachelsklar
    Um, a lot of people have heard of Tim Berners-Lee (Sir Timothy - a Brit), Matt & Meredith. C'mon now.
    Fri, Jul 27 2012 17:57:38
  9. AntDeRosa
    Anthony De Rosa@AntDeRosa
    Pretty sure @AnnCurry knows who Tim Berners-Lee is
    Fri, Jul 27 2012 18:18:23
  10. FakeSarahPalin
    FakeSarahPalin@FakeSarahPalin
    Tim Berners-Lee.... that's the guy that invented the Semantic Web right? Love that thing. Love. It.
    Fri, Jul 27 2012 18:14:35
  11. marksluckie
    Mark S. Luckie@marksluckie
    Also be sure to check out the Twitter #Olympics page and connect with other people who know who Tim Berners-Lee is twitter.com/#olympics
    Fri, Jul 27 2012 18:21:02
  12. ChrisBoese
    Chris Boese@ChrisBoese
    Yo Meredith and Matt. That's SIR Tim to you. #werenotnotworthy #olympics
    Fri, Jul 27 2012 18:13:07
  13. It's also worth noting that NBC is being heralded (and hounded) for its digital and streaming efforts around this year's Olympic games (and they are owned by an Internet company now).
  14. BuzzFeedAndrew
    Andrew Kaczynski@BuzzFeedAndrew
    Once NBC learns who Tim Berners-Lee is it will make setting up a live steam for the next Olympics much easier.
    Fri, Jul 27 2012 18:07:08
  15. tomwatson
    Tom Watson@tomwatson
    Tim Berners-Lee - you know, the guy who enabled you to stream this live #NBCyoulater #RetroactiveOlympics
    Fri, Jul 27 2012 18:08:57
  16. jcstearns
    Josh Stearns@jcstearns
    NBC is owned by Comcast now but they can't stream the opening ceremony live & Matt and Meredith don't know who Tim Berners-Lee is.
    Fri, Jul 27 2012 18:05:08
  17. Penenberg
    Adam L. Penenberg@Penenberg
    The irony is that the clip of Meredith Viera and Matt Lauer not knowing who Tim Berners-Lee is will be linked to millions of times.
    Fri, Jul 27 2012 18:18:34
  18. carriesparkle
    Carrie Dunn@carriesparkle
    Oh America. The only reason you can Google Tim Berners-Lee is because of TIM BERNERS-LEE.
    Fri, Jul 27 2012 18:03:37
  19. And just in case, here is Time Berners-Lee's bio.

  20. Berners-Lee is the director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which oversaw the Web's continued development. He is also the founder of the World Wide Web Foundation, and is a senior researcher and holder of the 3Com Founders Chair at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL).[3] He is a director of The Web Science Research Initiative (WSRI),[4] and a member of the advisory board of the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence.[5][6] In 2004, Berners-Lee was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his pioneering work.[7] In April 2009, he was elected as a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences, based in Washington, D.C.[8][9]

    Tim Berners-Lee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    en.wikipedia.org
  21. Other people pointed out a few reasons why Matt and Meredith should know who Time Berners-Lee is.
  22. digiphile
    Alex Howard@digiphile
    .@MLauer Have you ever used the World Wide Web? When you return to the @TodayShow, I hope you’ll take a moment to recognize @timberners_lee.
    Fri, Jul 27 2012 18:14:20
  23. tcarmody
    Tim Carmody@tcarmody
    You know, Meredith Viera, who doesn't know who Tim Berners-Lee is, has hosted Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? for ten years. #PhoneAFriend
    Fri, Jul 27 2012 18:04:11
  24. rachelsklar
    rachelsklar@rachelsklar
    My God, Sir Tim Berners-Lee is actually IN the opening ceremonies and they disrespected him like that? I'm a little aghast. #notcool
    Fri, Jul 27 2012 18:13:15
  25. samgustin
    Sam Gustin@samgustin
    1. Even if you didn't know who Tim Berners-Lee is, why would you want to broadcast your ignorance to the entire world?
    Fri, Jul 27 2012 18:19:16

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Josh Stearns

Fighting for the future of journalism through media & tech policy. Interested in building community & sustainability. Journalism and Public Media Campaign Director at Free Press.

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