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Paul Baran Creates Packet Switching
Paul Baran, an electrical engineer, created a system known as packet switching. This system, which took data and separated it into different packets, was a major building block for the internet. Specific date of the system's creation is unknown. -
Bob Taylor Conceptualizes Internet
During some time in 1966, Bob Taylor, who funded many projects for the Advanced Research Projects Agency, creates the idea for the arpanet. The arpanet eventually becomes the internet's predecessor. -
The "Interface Message Processor" is Created
The Interface Message Processor, or IMP, was connected to its first host. This was a crucial interface for sending and receiving pieces of data during the Space Race with Russia. -
First Apple Computer Introduced
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, founders of Apple, released the Apple II. The Apple II was one of the first personal computers on the market. -
BBS Invented
Computer Based Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) were invented shortly after the personal computer. These systems were online pieces of code that allowed users to communicate, share games, or download files. -
AOL Founded
America Online, or AOL, was invented in the mid-eighties. AOL provided a variety of services, but its member-created communities with searchable profiles, is considered an early predecessor to the many social networks we know and love today. -
World Wide Web Introduced
CERN, one of the world's largest physics laboratories, introduced the idea of the World Wide Web. The concept was created by British and Belgian scientists Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau. -
classmates.com
One of the early social networking sites was www.classmates.com. The idea was simple: to help former classmates reconnect online. The platform still exists today, boasting 70 million members in 2015. -
Chowhound
Jim Leff and Bob Okumura create Chowhound, which is said to be the first ever food blog. It was created as a food forum where users could share recipes and post local restaurant recommendations. -
allrecipes.com
Allrecipes.com, a popular social network for sharing recipes, was created. Today, the website has over 40 million users in 24 countries. -
Napster Founded
Napster, a peer-to-peer file sharing platform, was launched in 1999. It was widely used to share music. -
Napster Ceased Operations
A federal judge in San Fransisco ruled that Napster encouraged "wholesale copyright infringement," because users could freely share music without compensating the artists or record companies. The system soon ceased operations. -
friendster.com
Friendster was a popular social network centered around the idea of connecting with and meeting new friends. The website closed in 2015. -
linkedin.com
Created to help business professionals network and connect, linkedin remains one of the most popular social media platforms to date. -
myspace.com
Myspace was founded in 2003. Myspace was similar to Friendster in that it focused on connecting with friend circles, but it differed in that it offered more features, such as music and video capabilities. -
thefacebook.com
Mark Zuckerberg, a student at Harvard, created thefacebook in 2004. It was a Harvard-only social networking website that opened to the general public in 2006 and eventually became the Facebook that we know and love. -
youtube.com
YouTube was created as a way for viewers to search the Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake Super Bowl scandal online. The platform is still popular today, with over one billion active users each month. -
twitter.com
Twitter, a microblogging website, was launched in 2006 and is still one of the most popular social networking sites today. -
Snapchat
Three students from Stanford University founded Snapchat. Originally founded as Pictaboo, the widely popular app has expanded to include geographic filters, live streaming capabilities, and much more. -
Vine
Vine, an app for posting and sharing 6 second videos, was created. -
Tasty Videos Created
Popular Internet startup BuzzFeed started Tasty, a series of food-based content. The videos and recipes are wildly popular, gaining hundreds of millions of views. -
#RIPVine
Twitter, who bought Vine in 2012, shut down the app late last year. Vine will still exist as Vine Camera, which allows users to create 6-second videos and either save them to their phones or post them on Twitter.
