One of the things I enjoy the most about the Internet – and writing about it – is that I never know what is coming next. Just when I think the Internet could not possibly get any better, something else mind-blowing comes along and proves me wrong. When you compare the Internet’s progress over the last ten years, you will realise how many utterly cool things have been invented, and which have made their way into an indispensable part of our lives.
Our infographic today, from www.bestedsites.com, illustrates that perfectly. It shows you what was around online in 2002, compared to today in 2012. It makes you realise the huge extent of innovation, design, and genius which the Internet has coaxed out of people. You only have to look at today’s smartphones to realise that. 10 years ago, I was still trying to master text messaging. Now I am video chatting over Skype, and playing Angry Birds on the bus.
Let us know in the comments what you think of the infographic. Plus, ponder upon and comment on this – what would you say is the Internet’s biggest achievement over the past decade? Is there a particular website which has changed the world? Or perhaps you think that the world’s media has been permanently transformed? Or maybe you think the Internet’s biggest achievement is something we should not be proud of? Whatever you think it is, tell us in the comments.
Infographic Source: www.bestedsites.com
Image Source: Website Address Bar via Shutterstock.com
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Really, internet has evolved very much, and is continuing to grow.
You forget MUO ..I always go to makeuseof.com instead of facebook.com
I think Borders had online store.
interesting facts you’ve got here! O.o
I remember during AOL times, websites were known by their “keywords” rather than their URLs. Oh, those were the good ole days. TV commercials telling people to visit “AOL keyword, blah blah blah.”
The Internet has surely changed.
I find this really interesting. I think my friends would like to see this.
Technology and Inavtion, It never stop :)
It’s crazy how much it’s changed in only 10 years. Imagine 10 years from now!
Fantastic research work mark…:)
Websites now are much more user friendly than the past decade
Very impressive. Also would have been good to see smartphone & tablet access to the Internet in 2002 vs 2012
agreed
The graphic is a reminder of how quickly things do change in the internet. For all the positioning and all the dominance of sites like Facebook there’s the lesson of Internet Explorer.
Ten years ago MS was in the process of rewriting HTML, or significant portions of it, as proprietary to them and closed off from, say, Netscape. Not that Netscape gets off all that easily it was doing the same thing but lacked the platform to make it stick. And automatic space on Windows which is what got MS into anti-trust issues. Ironically it was former Netscape coders that developed the browser that took on IE and won simply by surviving, being standards compliant and more secure. Each of so much so that IE is now, finally, standards compliant so that it can run web apps the other browsers can. Firefox, which the mainline computer press doubted could make any kind of dent, smashes holes in IE’s walls,. Oh yeah, and it’s open source, too. Something else the mainstream computer press of the time refused to believe could become mainstream,
The lesson here is for companies like Facebook. Dominance in the age of the Web and the underlying Internet is transitory. The need Facebook responded to seems to be becoming less monolithic as social media becomes more specialized Sites are appearing and growing such as Pinterest, for example, which offer a social solution more in like to the clipping crowd, recipe traders and others who are moving from paper on line in an environment more suited to them. And there are others doing the same.
The social Web is becoming more responsive to smaller social groups. With hosting costs becoming less and tools to make sites easier to make a site with there will continue to be experiments in this area for some time to come. Facebook was and is a one size fits all response. That appears to be rapidly eroding as people gravitate towards sites that are social in nature but also centred on their interests.
IPv6 makes this all the more inevitable as the number of users continues to grow with all the new IP addresses.
All this is what makes the Web such an interesting place.
Not to mention the ongoing and far from over battles over copyright and other forms of “intellectual property” watching how that will turn out. It’s going to continue to be fun, too :)
but internet still……needed in INDIA
no internet?