Reframing the Early History of the World Wide Web (1989–1995): Applying the Marketing Mix to Understand the Web as a Product
This article reframes the early history of the World Wide Web (1989–1995) using the marketing mix framework (4Ps: product, price, place, promotion). Drawing on previously unpublished archival material from the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN’s) WWW Collection, it shifts the focus from individual-centered narratives to the institutional dynamics that shaped the Web’s early development. The study demonstrates how Web developers at CERN employed strategies commonly used to promote commercial technologies, not only to support the external dissemination of the Web but also to legitimize it internally during its development phase. These efforts aimed to advance a project that deviated from CERN’s core mission of high-energy physics and to promote outreach, collaboration, and usage in a competitive and rapidly evolving technological landscape. The article contributes to the historiography of the Web by revealing the tensions and interdependencies among the 4Ps, questioning assumptions about openness as purely ideological, and expanding the marketing mix framework to nonmarket contexts.
Barcella, D. (2025). Reframing the Early History of the World Wide Web (1989–1995): Applying the Marketing Mix to Understand the Web as a Product. International Journal of Communication, 19, 25. Retrieved from https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/24522