Web at 25

[Mizzougrad96]

I had a professor junior year who would send assignments out by email. It was done specifically to make sure everyone had an email account. It wasn't a big deal for me, because I used my email regularly during college, but for a lot of people it was a major pain in the ass for them, having to go to a library to check their email...

 

[Buck]

In 1983, 74 percent of respondents agreed that ability to shop online would leads to buying 'too many things that aren't in the family budget.'

That's wild.

 

[cranberry]

The Wire Service Guild used a CompuServ message board to post AP contract negotiation bulletins in 1989.

 

[Buck]

It's only 31 years ago, and only 1.4 percent US adults used the Internet.

That is mind blowing.

In 1995, it was 14 percent.

Now it's 87 percent.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

In 1983, 74 percent of respondents agreed that ability to shop online would leads to buying 'too many things that aren't in the family budget.'

That's wild.

I think the first concept I had about the Internet was seeing Matthew Broderick change his grades and nearly start a nuclear war in War Games.

In high school, the dad of one of my friends had one of the early modems that looked like a phone. We asked him a couple years later when we all had internal modems and he said, "Not only did I never use that modem, I never plugged it in. They just gave it to me for work."

 

[HejiraHenry]

Seems like it must have been mid-1995 for me, when I went to work in a D.C.-area public relations office.

Not sure that I had a non-AOL, non-work e-mail address until 1998, though.

 

[wicked]

Late 1996 or early 1997, and it's been a major time suck ever since.

 

[Vombatus]

Two pages in, and not much discussion of PORN yet.

One word: WIFEY

 

[Baron Scicluna]

I also remember telling my father about the internet in '94 and he scoffed about it. Until one night, when we were watching an NFL game and they put up a graphic promoting something and included and email address. I turned to my Dad and said, "see, I told you."

I also kick myself that I'm terrible at technical stuff and didn't think about either inventing something to do with the Web, or investing in somebody like Apple or Microsoft.