Changing Everything

This is the second time I've seen the History of the Internet video now, but hearing the stories about the development of technology since then will never cease to amaze me. I think the theme that sticks out the most when looking at the development of the web is the speed with which these advances get used and integrated into our lives.

In the video, this was exemplified with email, the first 'killer app'. No one was asking for an electronic mailing system to be created, but Ray Tomlinson played around with Internet capabilities and came up with it on his own time. Since then, it has become much more commonly used than the traditional mail system. In fact, the video mentions that more email than post office letters are delivered...and the video is old. I think older generations might lean towards traditional mailing systems more, but almost everyone I know (including my parents) has adopted email as their mailing system of choice.

This theme can also be seen with the creation of other 'apps', like Google, Facebook, and Twitter. None of the creators expected their site to become as widely known and used as they have become. Almost instantaneously, each of these sites grew from a fledgling idea (concocted in a dorm room in some cases) to a massive, global phenomenon that has undeniably changed aspects of our culture.

Another small thing I thought was interesting from the movie was that phone companies didn't want to get involved in computer networks because they didn't think they would be useful or important for mainstream use. WRONG. I bet they are still kicking themselves about that one. But if you think about it, we're probably lucky that major phone companies didn't get involved, otherwise the internet we have today would likely be much less 'free'.