I’ve put together a first draft of a list of subject areas that I feel have been deeply affected by the World Wide Web over the past 20 years. I aim to investigate these on a fortnightly basis over the next year or so. I thought I’d arrange it from A to Z to get my thought-juices flowing, and to provide a structure that I can dip in and out of as events transpire over an, admittedly, long period of 52 weeks.

Because I am a social psychologist, they are all socially-slanted. You’ll notice that there are no computer languages, operating systems or technologies included, as I wouldn’t have the first idea how to tackle them. Rather, these are big concepts: how has queer culture been transformed by the Web? How has the Web been used in new ways as a tool of persuasion and propaganda? What can we expect will happen in Africa as the continent is connected by broadband? How has the Web transformed how religions practice and preach? What can the Web offer in times of emergency? What has it done to our natural world?

The concepts listed are not in any hierarchy; they’re included as Big Ideas based on when I added them to the list, so don’t attribute any priority of, for example, propaganda over privacy.

Letter Big Idea 1 Big Idea 2 Big Idea 3 Big Idea 4 Big Idea 5 Big Idea 6
A Africa Art
B Business Backchannels Behavioural Advertising
C Cult of Me Charity Censorship Celebrity
D Disinformation Disability Design
E Extremism Emergency Response Ethics Education
F Friendship Film
G Globalisation Gatekeepers
H Hierarchy Health Human Rights
I Identity
J Journalism Justice
K Knowledge
L Love Language
M Memes Medicine Mobile Music
N Natural World Nationalism
O Online Community
P Persuasion Propaganda Physiology Privacy Participation Public Diplomacy
Q Queer Culture
R Religion Research
S Sex Social Change Shopping Storytelling Social Networking
T Television
U User-generated content
V Value Verification
W Work Habits War
X Xenophobia
Y Youth Culture
Z Zeitgeist

So what do you feel I’ve overlooked? What do you feel I’ve replicated? Which do you feel are the most important and which are the least important?