The one key element that makes the web possible, isn't HTML, HTTP, CSS, blah, blah, blah... it is the fact that it is decentralized. If for some reason we are tricked into moving away from this we are not longer using the web. We are just using AOL 2.0 - Google, Facebook, twitter, bit.ly.... are all trying take control of not users, but their information and the web.
Don’t think it will happen... it already has. The URL is the essence of how the web works and you no longer control yours. Link shortening, makes it easier to paste and share links but it breaks the web. Currently, I am sitting in China writing this comment and every link that bit.ly has under its control are completely useless to every person in China. My slogan that I came up with for Bit.ly is "Billions of links useless to billions of people!" Please don’t respond its China’s fault; that is too simple. The issue is that we haven’t responded fast enough from a standards perspective to combat this hijacking. The solution is actually quite simple to implement.