I first heard about internet in 1996 and didn't use it until 1998. But I am curious, when did the internet "explosion" begin? I know the internet began in the 60's, but didn't come to the public domain until the 90's. I also know, according to wikipedia  :-\\, that the world wide web began in 1993.

So there's a difference between "internet", "world wide web", and the "internet explosion".

So, when did the "internet explosion" begin?

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that interchange data by packet switching using the standardized Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP). It is a "network of networks" that consists of millions of private and public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope that are linked by copper wires, fiber-optic cables, wireless connections, and other technologies.

The World Wide Web (commonly abbreviated as "the Web") is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet.

In the 1994-1996 the Internet changed from a scientific and governmental research network to a commercial and consumer marketplace.

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that interchange data by packet switching using the standardized Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP). It is a "network of networks" that consists of millions of private and public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope that are linked by copper wires, fiber-optic cables, wireless connections, and other technologies.

The World Wide Web (commonly abbreviated as "the Web") is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet.

In the 1994-1996 the Internet changed from a scientific and governmental research network to a commercial and consumer marketplace.


Thanks alot for the info. You sound very smart!

So the internet exploded 1994 to 1996. I was only 5 in 1994, so I was way too young to really care about anything besides toys like power rangers or dinosaurs.

Thanks alot for the info. You sound very smart!

So the internet exploded 1994 to 1996. I was only 5 in 1994, so I was way too young to really care about anything besides toys like power rangers or dinosaurs.
Thanks, I did a course on the history of the Internet a few years ago, and know the juist of it all, and where to look.

I think I first heard of it in '95, but didn't know what it was. I'd say it was pretty much something for advanced office workers or geeks (like the comic book guy in The Simpsons were the types using it then, lol).

It was a slow process but if I had to pick one time where it pretty much became commonplace, I'd say 1997. That's when I first got it at home and started going online. I think everyone basically knew about it, even if lots of people still didn't have it and they'd say "Whoa cool man, you got the 'net!" There were references on tv shows about it being a "hot new thing" then. It probably integrated itself into everyday life (like where just about everyone had it and it was harder to get by without it) by 2001/02.

In the late 90s it was really popular, it was CLOSE to that point but still kind of a luxury. Kinda like the way Blu Ray or the Wii is now.

I think I first heard of it in '95, but didn't know what it was. I'd say it was pretty much something for advanced office workers or geeks (like the comic book guy in The Simpsons were the types using it then, lol).

It was a slow process but if I had to pick one time where it pretty much became commonplace, I'd say 1997. That's when I first got it at home and started going online. I think everyone basically knew about it, even if lots of people still didn't have it and they'd say "Whoa cool man, you got the 'net!" There were references on tv shows about it being a "hot new thing" then. It probably integrated itself into everyday life (like where just about everyone had it and it was harder to get by without it) by 2001/02.

In the late 90s it was really popular, it was CLOSE to that point but still kind of a luxury. Kinda like the way Blu Ray or the Wii is now.


What's up, Marty my man?

I agree with you about 1997 because I remember everyone in my second grade class talking about the 'net'. Compared to 1996, I only heard it two or three times from people. And by 1998, it became a common name!

Oh, and I'm an internet addict by the way! I was way worse in 2006.

I think the the 90's, especially 1994+ was the begginning of the modern era.

When ChuckyG created Amiright.com and inthe80s.com  :D

When ChuckyG created Amiright.com and inthe80s.com  :D


HA!

I'm gonna say when they started putting porn out there.  Lots of explosions then.....

idd say 1995 thats the first time i ever had heard and used the internet i wanna say 1998 was its high point

god i remember using dial up back then and the sound it would make when you would connect

I know I first got internet around later 1995 or so, though it was all pretty primitive back then. I remember those early sign ons it was like going into space or something lol. Nowadays of course we have always on broadband connections which was like a fantasy back then. By like 97 or so web addresses were commonly advertised. The beginning was really circa 1994 and then it progressed from there.

I know I first got internet around later 1995 or so, though it was all pretty primitive back then. I remember those early sign ons it was like going into space or something lol. Nowadays of course we have always on broadband connections which was like a fantasy back then. By like 97 or so web addresses were commonly advertised. The beginning was really circa 1994 and then it progressed from there.


haha yea that sound did seem like you were going into space
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsNaR6FRuO0

HA!

I'm gonna say when they started putting porn out there.  Lots of explosions then.....


Freakin' Lol !  ;D ;

We got a computer in like 1996 (or I think it was christmas 1995) but it wasn't something I was on all the time like kids are now.

There wasn't much to do on it... All I really did was listen to music and type papers. The internet took too long to connect and someone was always using the phone so I never used it except to download music.

My friends did AOL instant messanger and chat rooms, I don't think that was until a bit later though... It could've been around that time I don't really remember if AOL and chat rooms date back to 1996.

Its funny but a shame that nobody knows who Tim Berners-Lee is.  But we all know who Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are.


I remember going on my friend's computer in early 1997 and we set up AOL accounts and chatted in the chatrooms.  That was the popular thing then. 

Perhaps it was because I worked at a university that I got 'into' the e-mail/web thing earlier.  I know that staff and students had e-mail addresses in the late eighties.  And I can recall searching the web for some answers to a quiz in the very early 90's.

That said it was towards the end of the 90s that home access became more common.  I think we bought our first home computer in 1996 but I don't think we hooked up to the web until 2001.

I had a computer before it was common to have a computer, but I was operating a DOS-based operating system computer named Tandy(which went out of business in '94) in the early 90s.  Anyways, the internet explosion started in 1994 but didn't peak until 1996 when all you see was (website).com's everywhere.  About 97 is when everyone had computers and it was about 2000/01 when people started to use High-Speed Internet.

I say the second era of the internet came to being in 2004 with Wikipedias, Youtubes, Myspaces, etc..

If I had to do every year of the 90's, the Internet's popularity would be something like this:

1990: WWW first invented, select government and universities only.
1991-1992: Like 1990, but with more organizations and colleges joining.
1993: The White House gets a website; most colleges have the Internet by this point, except for some small schools in conservative areas. Starting to be discussed on some media outlets, but still a step away from exploding.
1994: Commercial outlets start going online; e-mail becomes popular and starts to appear on business cards, but still rare in households. The "Booster Igniton" year.
1995: The GREAT EXPLOSION; many commercial websites still online today (like inthe80s.com and amiright.com) launched this year! Website addresses start to appear on products/ads, albeit starting with http://www. (The http:// would be dropped sometime in 1997, and the www would be dropped on some ads/promos starting around 1999). Windows 95 also triggered enoromous interest in the Web. HUGE gain in stocks that year; the PEAK of the '90s technologically. Mostly a luxury item for residents and smaller businesses still. Virtually every university/college has the Internet this year (maybe except for a few small two-year colleges), and are starting to become common in high schools as well.
1996: Like 1995, but more of an "intranet" year for connecting networks; pages still old-school and simple. 28.8K now the common dial-up speed. About one-quarter of homes are wired by the end of this year. My middle school first got the Internet this year.
1997: Pretty much the year where Internet became a necessity; about 50% of locations are wired by the end of this year. Online shopping really exploded this year. Primary/elementary schools now are a common Internet new user.
1998: Many Internet pages start to look a lot more modern this year, and blogging begins to appear, but still a year from exploding.  56K now the common dial-up speed. About half of all households have the web by the end of this year, and even conservative places such as Churches, Preschools, and Nursing Homes get websites this year.
1999: Pretty much the last hurrah for "Web 1.0"; Napster launches free music that will soon start the industry's perennial decline in sales since. Viruses becoming an increasing concern. The web truly starts to become global as lesser countries such as India and Eastern Europe really makes considerable presence. Cable connection starting to appear in wealthy households. Blogging and discussion boards begin in earnest, albeit in a primitive format with lots of hyperlinks for each topic.

If I had to do every year of the 90's, the Internet's popularity would be something like this:

1990: WWW first invented, select government and universities only.
1991-1992: Like 1990, but with more organizations and colleges joining.
1993: The White House gets a website; most colleges have the Internet by this point, except for some small schools in conservative areas. Starting to be discussed on some media outlets, but still a step away from exploding.
1994: Commercial outlets start going online; e-mail becomes popular and starts to appear on business cards, but still rare in households. The "Booster Igniton" year.
1995: The GREAT EXPLOSION; many commercial websites still online today (like inthe80s.com and amiright.com) launched this year! Website addresses start to appear on products/ads, albeit starting with http://www. (The http:// would be dropped sometime in 1997, and the www would be dropped on some ads/promos starting around 1999). Windows 95 also triggered enoromous interest in the Web. HUGE gain in stocks that year; the PEAK of the '90s technologically. Mostly a luxury item for residents and smaller businesses still. Virtually every university/college has the Internet this year (maybe except for a few small two-year colleges), and are starting to become common in high schools as well.
1996: Like 1995, but more of an "intranet" year for connecting networks; pages still old-school and simple. 28.8K now the common dial-up speed. About one-quarter of homes are wired by the end of this year. My middle school first got the Internet this year.
1997: Pretty much the year where Internet became a necessity; about 50% of locations are wired by the end of this year. Online shopping really exploded this year. Primary/elementary schools now are a common Internet new user.
1998: Many Internet pages start to look a lot more modern this year, and blogging begins to appear, but still a year from exploding.  56K now the common dial-up speed. About half of all households have the web by the end of this year, and even conservative places such as Churches, Preschools, and Nursing Homes get websites this year.
1999: Pretty much the last hurrah for "Web 1.0"; Napster launches free music that will soon start the industry's perennial decline in sales since. Viruses becoming an increasing concern. The web truly starts to become global as lesser countries such as India and Eastern Europe really makes considerable presence. Cable connection starting to appear in wealthy households. Blogging and discussion boards begin in earnest, albeit in a primitive format with lots of hyperlinks for each topic.


Thanks for the info. Wow, this was exactly what I was looking for! Yeah, I agree the net really  started to
exploded in 1994 and 1995.

Wow, I didn't know some colleges had internet in 1990! I didn't even know what internet was until 1996!

Its funny but a shame that nobody knows who Tim Berners-Lee is.  But we all know who Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are.


I remember going on my friend's computer in early 1997 and we set up AOL accounts and chatted in the chatrooms.  That was the popular thing then. 



Yeah, Tim should get a lot of credit. But people don't know who he is, I don't get it!?

And in highschool, me, my sister, and my best friend (her boyfriend) were in this special program for the bad and troublesome rebel kids because the three of us always acted out in middle school, and sophomore year (1995 - 1996) there was a wing of the program divided to a new class of computer schooling... another option for kids who didn't do well in regular classes. And we also had a computer class first period which I hated so much because we were only allowed to do the work on the compute,r they were new Windows 95 models  ;D and I always wanted to explore the internet but everytime I tried I got caught.

All I remember is how much I hated that class, and listening to my TLC cd's singing the songs as loud as possible to piss the teacher off because he was such a prick.  ;D

I would love to go back in time and see myself.

Thanks for the info. Wow, this was exactly what I was looking for! Yeah, I agree the net really  started to
exploded in 1994 and 1995.


The WWW was 'invented' in 1989 but the internet (as in a network of computers) was around from the end of 1950's. 

I've always considered the real Internet boom's beginning to be in the later part of 1995, sometime around the August 24th release of Windows 95. To me, personally at least, that's what I consider to be beginning.

We got our first computer (A Windows 95 Packard Bell) in December of 1995 and I seem to recall first getting on the Internet in January/February of 1996 on good 'ol America Online. :D I don't remember ever getting on any websites though at that time. I just used it to email my aunt and look at the AOL Channels. Well, I was only 6 at the time.

I would say in Britain everything was slightly later:

Uni students and computer geeks - probably the early 90s.

Email addresses and websites starting to appear on mainstream TV and in magazines - late 1995-early 96.

Being picked up in cybercafes and libraries and entering a few homes - 1996-97. This was when I first used the internet at a friend's house.

Becoming much more commonplace in the home by about 1999. But at this time you could still be forgiven for not knowing how to use the net, and there were many guidebooks on the internet being sold during this period. I would say by late 2001-early 2002 people would have looked at you strangely for not understanding the internet!

I don't know how the hell anyone would download music in 1995.

The internet was pretty much good for AOL chatrooms, AOL webpages, Email and some spotty websites here and there.

Java Games was the extent to internet usage.

I got my first computer as a gift in 1996. Compaq Presario.  ;D

Windows 95 hahaha - that was the revolution right there.

I think thefirst time I heard the word "Internet" was during the first half of '96 and when I heard about its function, I was of course curious and yearning to get on. The following Fall, I was finally introduced on my Dad's computer and I remember it was a looooong procedure just to get on there!!! Still thought it was the neatest invention. Funny how I take it for granted now.

My family had a computer as far back as the mid-80s, but didn't get online from home until '99 with AOL. Prior to that, I wasted a lot of time and bandwith using my college's computer labs for chat rooms, gaming and other foolishness. In retrospect, I'm surprised I ever got anything done! During my high school days, a friend and I swapped files over a 3600 baud modem. I remember trying to seend him a game once, and we ended up forgetting about it because it would have taken three hours. Thank god for DSL. 
Round about '91 or 92, I recall the media using the term "information superhighway" as a catchall for online usage, but I don't remember "internet" being a comonly-used word until a bit later. 

Wow. I didn't even know what computers really were in the mid 80's... Other than hearing the term said. It could be because I was only in kindergarten. Being that said, I could never have imagined a computer being in a home back then. Was anyone that you knew surprised?

Computer started becoming available to the public in the late 70s I think, which is based on when the Apple II computer came out.

Wow. I didn't even know what computers really were in the mid 80's... Other than hearing the term said. It could be because I was only in kindergarten. Being that said, I could never have imagined a computer being in a home back then. Was anyone that you knew surprised?


I don't think anyone was surprised, but home PC's certainly weren't as common as they are now. My father brought home a used Osborne I in '84. For details, click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_I It was a very forward-looking design, in an era before laptops. Unfortunately, Osborne was a computer guy, and not a marketing expert. That sunk the company in the end, IMO.

I don't recall any of my friends having a computer until a few years later. 

I don't know how the hell anyone would download music in 1995.

The internet was pretty much good for AOL chatrooms, AOL webpages, Email and some spotty websites here and there.

Java Games was the extent to internet usage.

I got my first computer as a gift in 1996. Compaq Presario.  ;D

Windows 95 hahaha - that was the revolution right there.


yep, remember those Windows 95 commercials with the Stones "Start Me Up"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VPFKnBYOSI