Post #1: Are You Telling Me The Internet Wasn’t Always There?

Kids today have no idea what life was like before the Internet. They don’t have to rely on the telephone to speak with their friends or physically go to the mall when they want to see what’s new and exciting in the world of retail or wait days for someone to receive their letter in the mail. They live in a fast paced world that has been sped up by the Internet.

The Internet was born in 1973 as a U.S. Defense research program investigating interlinking packet networks of various kinds (http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/cerf.shtml). The project was called the “Internetting” project was later became known as the “Internet.” The two protocols that were developed as a result of this project are TCP and IP.

Besides the government, there were other people who had a hand in helping the Internet become what it is today. Ted Nelson coined the word “Hypertext” in 1965 in his article A File Structure for the Complex, the Changing, and the Indeterminate. Nelson also coined the phrase “WorldWideWeb” for a project he was working on in 1990. (http://www.w3.org/History.html)

The Internet started arriving in homes starting in 1994, with the announcement of the “Internet in a box” product developed by Spry Inc. AOL started sending out their cds in mail for their dial-up service around 1995.

Since dial-up, the Internet has come a long way. Dial-up, DSL, Cable, etc. Almost everything we do can be done on the Internet. Social networking allows us to keep in touch with our friends and family. We never have to leave the comfort of our homes to go shopping. We can get our favorite movies without having to drive to the video rental store. We can receive and send email messages. We can search for information. We can get our favorite music without having to buy the cd. We can create content to suit our personalities, needs and wants.

The Internet offers an endless amount of opportunity and services and kids today take it for granted. The Internet has always just been there for them; they have no idea what life was like before it. They also don’t know life before cell phones, mp3 players, video games, etc. Today’s society is incorporating technology into every aspect of life. I wonder what technologies will shape the lives of my children…