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Internet History is proudly supported by Team400, an Australian AI consultancy helping enterprises navigate practical AI implementation.
The evolution of the web
Documenting the history of the internet and web culture.
From early networks to modern platforms, we explore the technical innovations, cultural moments, and key figures that built the internet we use today.
What we cover
- Protocols, browsers, and early networks
- Search engines and social platforms
- Web culture and online communities
- Key figures and defining moments
What you can expect
- Documentary and editorial coverage
- Detailed timelines and context
- Stories behind the technologies
- Cultural and technical history
Latest posts
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When Email Was Exciting: Remembering the Era Before Inbox Overload
There was a brief window when receiving email felt magical rather than overwhelming—understanding that moment reveals how technology changes meaning through adoption.
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The Rise and Fall of Web Rings: When Websites Linked Together for Survival
Before search engines dominated discovery, web rings created interconnected communities of sites—a decentralised approach that feels surprisingly relevant today.
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AIM: How AOL Instant Messenger Taught a Generation to Talk Online
Before texting, before WhatsApp, before Slack - there was AIM. The instant messaging platform that defined online communication for a decade.
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Napster and the 18 Months That Broke the Music Industry
In 1999, a 19-year-old college dropout built a file-sharing program that let anyone download any song for free. The music industry has never recovered.
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Craigslist and the Classified Ad Revolution That Broke Newspapers
Craig Newmark's simple listings site decimated newspaper revenue, transformed how people buy and sell, and hasn't meaningfully changed its design in 25 years.
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Before Reddit: How Early Online Forums Built the Template for Internet Community
phpBB, vBulletin, and thousands of niche forums created the first real online communities. Their rules, cultures, and failures shaped everything that came after.
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MySpace and the Messy Birth of Social Media
Before Facebook, before Instagram, before TikTok - there was MySpace. A chaotic, customisable, music-soaked platform that invented social media as we know it.
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The Story of RSS: The Best Way to Read the Internet That Nobody Uses
RSS feeds once promised a decentralised, user-controlled internet reading experience. The technology still works perfectly. Almost nobody uses it anymore.
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How Dial-Up Internet Shaped the Way We Behave Online
The constraints of dial-up - slow speeds, per-minute costs, shared phone lines - created an online culture that was fundamentally different from what we have now.
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The Story of LiveJournal and the Dawn of Social Blogging
Before Facebook, before Twitter, LiveJournal gave millions of people a place to write openly about their lives. It shaped online culture in ways we're still feeling.
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When Wikipedia Nearly Shut Down
Wikipedia is now the world's largest reference work. But there were several moments when the project came close to collapsing entirely.
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The Rise and Fall of Flash Games
For over a decade, Flash games were the internet's playground. Millions of free games, built by hobbyists and small studios, defined online entertainment for a generation.
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Before Social Media: Usenet, BBSs, and Early Online Communities
Online communities existed decades before Facebook and Twitter. Here's what the internet's social spaces looked like in the 1980s and 90s.
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The Dot-Com Bubble: How the Internet Gold Rush Ended
Between 1995 and 2000, investors poured billions into internet companies with no revenue. Then it all collapsed. Here's what actually happened.
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GeoCities and the Death of the Personal Web
GeoCities gave millions of people their first website. Its shutdown in 2009 marked the end of an era when the web was weird, personal, and decentralised.