09 Nov 2008 For almost two decades, the World Wide Web has been largely described in terms of technologies, infrastructure, processes, and methods that define it and applications it supports. In contrast, the emerging discipline of Web Science seeks to understand the phenomenon that is the Web as an independent entity and the ecology in which it exists. In addition, Web Science explores the roles and the impact that the Web has had and will continue to have in the 21st century. As a result, studies in Web Science will help us to understand how the technology might evolve and how we can be prepared for the future Web. Bebo White