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The beginning
The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) goes online for the first time, in December, creating a connection between four major universities across the United States. This provided the U.S with a communications network to link the country in the event of a military attack destroying conventional communications systems. -
The birth of 'Email'
Electronic mail, or 'Email' is created by Cambridge computer scientist, Ray Tomlinson. He decides to use the '@' symbol as a means to distinguish between a sender's name and their network name in their email address. -
The design of Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol is introduced
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, is designed. This is a way for a computer to provide a host access to the internet. by 1983, this design becomes the standard for communication over the internet. -
World Leaders begin using Email
U.S Presidential candidate Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale, Carter's running mate, use email to plan campaign events. During this year, Queen Elizabeth sends her very first email and is the first state leader to do so. -
The Domain Name System is Established
As the Domain Name System is established, network addresses become identified by extensions including '.com', '.org', and '.edu' -
The First Major Internet Virus
'The Internet Worm' virus spreads across the web, temporarily shutting down about 10% of the world's Internet servers. -
The 'World Wide Web' Makes Its Debut
The 'World Wide Web' makes its debut. Creator, Tim Berners-Lee develops this design as a means to distribute information across the internet. The design is based on hypertext, which allows users to connect from one document to another on different websites, via hyperlinks. -
The Launch of 'Archie'
Peter Deutsch makes the first effort to index the internet, creating a search engine called 'Archie'. -
The Navigator Browser
Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark establish their computer services company, Netscape Communications. The two introduce the Navigator browser. -
Internet Use Grows
By 1996, 45 million people are using the internet. 30 million of these users are from North America, 9 million are from Europe and 6 million are from Asia/Pacific. -
NASA Breaks Record for highest Number of Site Visits
NASA releases images taken by Pathfinder on Mars, generating 46 million hits, a record breaking number at the time. -
Google Makes It's Debut
Google opens its first office in California. -
Electronic Message Use Rises
Almost 10 billion electronic messages are sent each day -
Wikipedia Is Created
Wikipedia, a free, online encyclopedia is created -
Buying Online Reaches Record High
Online spending reaches $117 billion, a record high at the time. -
Facebook is Launched
Mark Zuckerberg launches Facebook, it takes the world by storm. -
YouTube is Launched
YouTube, a video sharing and viewing website is created -
Online Music Market Soars
Online (legal) music downloads triple to almost 7 million downloads per week. -
Apps Begin to Take Over
More than half of online time is spent on smartphone apps across developed countries. -
Video Content on Social Media Rises
Videos across social media receive 4 billion views daily. -
Net Neutrality is the U.S Faces Serious Threat
The vast majority of the U.S Federal Communications Commission votes to revoke net neutrality. -
Online Devices Near Match the Human Population
The number of devices that connect online such as smart TVs, webcams and even refrigerators exceeds 7 billion, almost matching the human population