Carrie’s LIS Weblog

Just today, my boss asked if I would show him my Facebook page.  “I’m still kinda clueless about these new technology sites,” he told me.  So I gladly showed him my page and he marveled at how I could post pictures, connect with old friends, etc.–all through a simple website.  But while it just seems like part of everyday life today, the Internet is still relatively young and has an interesting history.

 I found it interesting to read about the Internet’s origins.  I did some Google searching, and most sites state that the Internet can be traced back to the 1960s, when ARPANET started developing.  Wikipedia defines ARPANET as “the world’s first operational packet switching network.”  ARPANET was just the beginning though–soon other countries besides the U.S. were connecting their networks through TCP/IP.  In its early stages, the Internet was used by and for computer scientists and the government (later expanding to universities).  In the U.S., DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) was a major force behind the Internet, and in Europe, CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) was another key player.

Fast forward to the late 1980’s and early 90’s.  The Internet was alredy allowed use at universities for research, and around this time expanded to commerce.   The Computer History Museum online also cites the late 80’s as being the time when the concept of the “World Wide Web” was first introduced.  The 90’s saw the growth of email and the use of the World Wide Web among everyday citizens.  I think for a lot of people, the draw was how fast the Internet was (although it was slower than it is today!)  I can still remember my first experience with the Internet in high school and just being amazed at how fast I could get information.

This leads us today, with billions of web pages, high-speed Internet options, and networking sites such as Facebook, which continues to amaze my boss.  He has three young children, and I asked him what sort of technology he thought his children might encounter in the future.  “Who knows?” he said.  “When they’re older, things like Facebook and Myspace will probably seem old and like nothing to them.”  He may be right!  Who knows how the Internet will continue to evolve in the future…..