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Arpanet
Arpanet was the first real network to run on packet switching technology (new at the time). -
Email
Email was first developed in 1971 by Ray Tomlinson, who also made the decision to use the “@” symbol. -
The PC modem
The first PC modem, developed by Dennis Hayes and Dale Heatherington, was introduced and initially sold to computer hobbyists. -
Spam is born
The first unsolicited commercial email message (later known as spam), sent out to 600 California Arpanet users by Gary Thuerk. -
MUD – The earliest form of multiplayer games
MUDs were entirely text-based virtual worlds, combining elements of role-playing games, interactive, fiction, and online chat. -
ENQUIRE software
The European Organization for Nuclear Research launched ENQUIRE, a hypertext program that allowed scientists at the particle physics lab to keep track of people, software, and projects using hypertext (hyperlinks). -
The first emoticon
Scott Fahlman in 1982 who proposed using :) after a joke, rather than the original -) proposed by MacKenzie. -
Domain Name System (DNS)
DNS servers allowed Internet users to type in an easy-to-remember domain name and then converted it to the IP address automatically. -
Protocol wars
The so-called Protocol wars began in 1986. European countries at that time were pursuing the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI), while the United States was using the Internet/Arpanet protocol, which eventually won out. -
The Internet grows
By 1987, there were nearly 30,000 hosts on the Internet. The original Arpanet protocol had been limited to 1,000 hosts, but the adoption of the TCP/IP standard made larger numbers of hosts possible. -
IRC – Internet Relay Chat
Also in 1988, Internet Relay Chat (IRC) was first deployed, paving the way for real-time chat and the instant messaging programs we use today. -
First web page created
1991 brought some major innovations to the world of the Internet. The first web page was created and, much like the first email explained what email was, its purpose was to explain what the World Wide Web was. -
The first webcam
The first webcam, It was deployed at a Cambridge University computer lab. -
Google
Google went live in 1998, revolutionizing the way in which people find information online. -
Wikipedia
Wikipedia launched in 2001, one of the websites that paved the way for collective web content generation/social media. -
