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The first network to run on packet switching. Computers at Stanford and UCLA linked up and attempted to send the word "login". the link crashed upon sending the letter g. -
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Email is invented. The @ symbol is used to separate the user name and computer name. -
France launches CYCLADES, another packet-switching network. It was later shut down, but introduced the idea that the host computer should be responsible for data transmission instead of the network. -
Project Gutenberg is first launched, a site for making publications in the public domain easy to access online. The site's first work was the Declaration of Independence, which the creator - Michael Hart - typed out word by word, as OCR had not been invented. This effectively marks the beginning of the eBook. -
Arpanet first connects across the Atlantic, to the University of London. -
Email becomes significantly more common, as it accounted for more than 75% of Arpanet traffic. -
Vinton Cerf (pictured) publishes a proposal for an "inter-network" where data would be shared without a central control centre, instead through a universal protocol. -
As email becomes more popular, the first email client is developed by John Vittal: Laurel. This introduces several universal concepts such as the "Reply" and "Forward" functions. -
The first Bulletin Board System (BBS) is developed in Chicago by Ward Christensen and Randy Suess. A BBS is a system where users connect to a system and are able to upload and download data, read news bulletins and more. In other words, this was the first Internet forum. -
The first unsolicited commercial emails are sent to 600 Californian Arpanet users by Gary Thuerk -
The first multiplayer games, MultiUser Dungeons (MUDs), are born. MUDs were online fantasy text adventures controlled by several players. -
Usenet, developed by two graduate students, continued the concept of online forums by allowing people to converse about numerous topics in "newsgroups" -
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The first internet-based malicious attack called the "Morris Worm" is deployed by Robert Tappan Morris "to demonstrate the inadequacies of current security measures on computer networks by exploiting the security defects [he] had discovered". The worm would use up a significant amount of a computer's resources, rendering it useless. The cost of damages were estimated between $100,000–$10,000,000 (USD). Morris was put under three years of probation and given a $100 000 (USD) fine. -
Apple releases America Online (AOL), a service which makes the Internet significantly more accessible. AOL was phased out in 2020. -
Tim Berners-Lee proposes 'a "web" of notes with links (like references)'. This would be called the "World Wide Web" in 1990 -
The first Internet Service Provider (ISP) called "The World" goes online. In the same year, Arpanet is disconnected. -
Tim Berners-Lee finished writing the World Wide Web, setting the standards for HTML, HTTP and URLs. The first website was released in 1991 -
MP3 files become a standard for sharing audio files. -
The first webcam is developed in Cambridge University's computer lab in order to monitor a singular coffee maker to detect if the pot was empty. -
The Internet begins rapidly commercialising. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is developed, allowing for safer financial transactions. Echo Bay (Later eBay) and Amazon go online this year. -
Yahoo! Geocities goes online, a website creating software similar to Google Sites. This service went offline in 2009. -
Napster is launched, introducing the idea of file sharing via the Internet -
Google comes online, completely changing the standard for search engines -
Wikipedia is launched, a collaborative project designed an extremely comprehensive encyclopedia from scratch -
Myspace launches and becomes the most popular social network of its time (since overtaken by Facebook) -
The launch of DIgg, the predecessor to Reddit, Minx and Yahoo!Buzz. News is spread democratically instead of through mainstream media. -
"TheFacebook" opens exclusively to university students. It was later rebranded to Facebook, but [thefacebook.com](thefacebook.com) is still a valid url. -
The concept of "the Web as a Platform" grows in popularity, referring to websites and Rich Internet Applications (RIA) being user-driven. -
YouTube launches, making video hosting more accessible -
Twitter comes online (originally twittr, inspired by "Flickr"). The first tweet was "just setting up my twttr" from @jack (Jack Dorsey, creator of Twitter) -
The first iPhone is released, renewing an interest in a mobile web. -
The first year that national candidates took full advantage of the Internet to influence voters. This event irreversibly integrated politics and campaigning into the Internet
