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#internethistory

2 posts2 participants0 posts today
Richard MacManus<p>To date, I don't think we've ever seen something on the internet as destructive to the cultural industries as Napster was in 1999 (although AI is threatening that now!). By coincidence, 1999 was when David Bowie became the first major artist to sell an album online as a digital download. The two storylines — Napster and Bowie's Hours — became entwined in intriguing ways. <a href="https://cybercultural.com/p/napster-1999/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">cybercultural.com/p/napster-19</span><span class="invisible">99/</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/InternetHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>InternetHistory</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Napster" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Napster</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Bowie" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Bowie</span></a></p>
Richard MacManus<p>After seeing the movie 'The Matrix', Philip Rosedale started a dot-com company in 1999 and attempted to build a full-body virtual reality rig. He soon pivoted to creating a virtual world on the Web. To this day, he's still come closer to creating the metaverse than Mark Zuckerberg ever will... <a href="https://cybercultural.com/p/second-life-metaverse-1999/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">cybercultural.com/p/second-lif</span><span class="invisible">e-metaverse-1999/</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/InternetHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>InternetHistory</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Metaverse" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Metaverse</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/TheMatrix" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TheMatrix</span></a></p>
US<p><a href="https://www.europesays.com/us/135766/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="">europesays.com/us/135766/</span><span class="invisible"></span></a> AOL’s dial-up internet still exists, but not for much longer <a href="https://pubeurope.com/tags/AOL" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>AOL</span></a> <a href="https://pubeurope.com/tags/AOLInstantMessenger" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>AOLInstantMessenger</span></a> <a href="https://pubeurope.com/tags/DialUpInternet" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DialUpInternet</span></a> <a href="https://pubeurope.com/tags/DialUpService" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DialUpService</span></a> <a href="https://pubeurope.com/tags/Internet" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Internet</span></a> <a href="https://pubeurope.com/tags/InternetHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>InternetHistory</span></a> <a href="https://pubeurope.com/tags/InternetService" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>InternetService</span></a> <a href="https://pubeurope.com/tags/Technology" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Technology</span></a> <a href="https://pubeurope.com/tags/UnitedStates" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>UnitedStates</span></a> <a href="https://pubeurope.com/tags/UnitedStates" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>UnitedStates</span></a> <a href="https://pubeurope.com/tags/US" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>US</span></a></p>
Jake in the desert<p>"No Web phenomenon is more confounding than blogging. Everything media experts knew about audiences – and they knew a lot – confirmed the focus group belief that audiences would never get off their butts and start making their own entertainment.</p><p>What a shock, then, to witness the near-instantaneous rise of 50 million blogs, with a new one appearing every two seconds."</p><p>Great piece by <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://mastodon.social/@Jayhoffmann" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@<span>Jayhoffmann</span></a></span>, 'We Are Still the Web': <a href="https://thehistoryoftheweb.com/we-are-still-the-web" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">thehistoryoftheweb.com/we-are-</span><span class="invisible">still-the-web</span></a></p><p><a href="https://c.im/tags/blogs" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>blogs</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/blogging" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>blogging</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/WebHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WebHistory</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/InternetHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>InternetHistory</span></a></p>
Jake in the desert<p>Webrings are still around, and <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://front-end.social/@sarajw" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@<span>sarajw</span></a></span> tipped me off to this large, essentially comprehensive list of them, here: <a href="https://brisray.com/web/webring-list.htm" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">brisray.com/web/webring-list.h</span><span class="invisible">tm</span></a>. This site lists over 400 webrings that are linked to over 16,000 websites total. Any kind of interest you may have, you'll probably be able to find a webring for it here. </p><p>The same site also has a great history of webrings, what they are, and how they started, here: <a href="https://brisray.com/web/webring-history.htm" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">brisray.com/web/webring-histor</span><span class="invisible">y.htm</span></a></p><p><a href="https://c.im/tags/webring" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>webring</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/webrings" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>webrings</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/WebHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WebHistory</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/InternetHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>InternetHistory</span></a></p>
Richard MacManus<p>In 1999, David Bowie starred in a 3D game about a hacker attacked by a demon in meatspace, who then escapes into the Omikron network. “An old legend recounts that only a nomad soul can hunt the demons out of Omikron,” he says in the introduction. </p><p>The music became his album 'hours...', but in retrospect the video game didn't quite match the likes of Everquest and Ultima Online for "human presence." <a href="https://cybercultural.com/p/bowie-1999-omikron/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">cybercultural.com/p/bowie-1999</span><span class="invisible">-omikron/</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/InternetHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>InternetHistory</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/BowieForever" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BowieForever</span></a></p>
Kalvin<p>ⓘ This Mastodon instance was promised to me 3,000 years ago. </p><p><a href="https://mastodon.kupi.my/tags/MastodonHumor" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MastodonHumor</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.kupi.my/tags/DecentralizedSocial" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DecentralizedSocial</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.kupi.my/tags/SocialMediaJoke" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SocialMediaJoke</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.kupi.my/tags/TechTimeline" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TechTimeline</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.kupi.my/tags/MastodonInstance" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MastodonInstance</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.kupi.my/tags/InternetHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>InternetHistory</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.kupi.my/tags/FunnyTech" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>FunnyTech</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.kupi.my/tags/DigitalArchaeology" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DigitalArchaeology</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.kupi.my/tags/SocialNetworkLaughs" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SocialNetworkLaughs</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.kupi.my/tags/TechMemes" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TechMemes</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.kupi.my/tags/OnlineCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>OnlineCommunity</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.kupi.my/tags/MastodonVibes" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MastodonVibes</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.kupi.my/tags/FuturePast" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>FuturePast</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.kupi.my/tags/TechTwist" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TechTwist</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.kupi.my/tags/DigitalHumor" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DigitalHumor</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.kupi.my/tags/CommunityDriven" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CommunityDriven</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.kupi.my/tags/SocialMediaFun" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SocialMediaFun</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.kupi.my/tags/TechSatire" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TechSatire</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.kupi.my/tags/OnlineJokes" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>OnlineJokes</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.kupi.my/tags/MastodonMadness" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MastodonMadness</span></a></p>
Richard MacManus<p>I take a look at how Online Identity has evolved through the years, from the fluid identities of BowieWorld to the neutered identity culture that Facebook introduced in the 2000s. David Bowie himself played with virtual personas (how could he not?!) and I also look at a 1999 book by US sociologist Sherry Turkle. <a href="https://cybercultural.com/p/online-identity-bowieworld-1999/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">cybercultural.com/p/online-ide</span><span class="invisible">ntity-bowieworld-1999/</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/InternetHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>InternetHistory</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/OnlineIdentity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>OnlineIdentity</span></a></p>
Richard MacManus<p>Continuing my look back at the rise of Google, we're now in 1999. It's still a web world dominated by portals, but Google ("pure search" with "no portal litter," as one tech magazine put it) is starting to get noticed. <a href="https://cybercultural.com/p/google-1999/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">cybercultural.com/p/google-199</span><span class="invisible">9/</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/InternetHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>InternetHistory</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Google1990s" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Google1990s</span></a></p>
Richard MacManus<p>It's 1998, the middle of the dot-com boom. Portals are advertising on TV, web developers are fighting browser companies (but despite this, web design has achieved a harmony of form and function), Microsoft and Amazon are gaining power, Google is born, and Netscape is going open source. <a href="https://cybercultural.com/p/internet-1998/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">cybercultural.com/p/internet-1</span><span class="invisible">998/</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/InternetHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>InternetHistory</span></a></p>
fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻<p>November 2007— Mark Cuban pitches to <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Facebook" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Facebook</span></a> an API that extends past the Facebook domain. He describes what would eventually become Facebook's Open Graph and Graph API, the catalysts to the <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/CambridgeAnalytica" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CambridgeAnalytica</span></a> scandal that would occur six years later. </p><p><a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Meta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Meta</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/OpenSocialWeb" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>OpenSocialWeb</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/InternetHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>InternetHistory</span></a></p>
internetarchive

☀️ Summer online in the late 90s? Disney hoped you’d start at Go․com.

It launched in 1998 as a bold web portal strategy to unify Disney’s online presence—ESPN, ABC, Disney—all under one digital roof. But starting in 2001, it was gradually stripped of services & branding. Now it's just directs to a page about the Disney Company.

Check out its short life with the #WaybackMachine
➡️ web.archive.org/web/2001111608

#InternetHistory#WebArchive#SummerOnline
Richard MacManus

As search engines in 2025 shift from providing links to (AI) answers — and all the angst that is causing web publishers — I thought I'd take a look at what search engines were like in 1998...one year before Google became popular. At that time search was seen as just one part of the portal experience. But little did AltaVista know, it wouldn't be the center of attention on @dannysullivan's Search Engine Watch for much longer. cybercultural.com/p/search-199 #InternetHistory #searchengines

CyberculturalSearch Engines in 1998, Before Google Takes the Spotlight
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Aashik J Krishnan

Nicola Pellow: The Quiet Hero of the Web

At 21, while still a student, she built the first cross-platform browser, letting the web go global. Then she disappeared.

Who remembers her today? Almost no one.

I wrote my longest post since 2016 to honour her and the quiet women who shaped tech.

🔗 blogs.aashgates.com/index.php?

blogs.aashgates.comThe Unseen Pioneer: Nicola Pellow and the Dawn of the WebShe was young, quiet, and brilliant, coding in a CERN corner while the world didn’t even know the web existed yet. Nicola Pellow learned C from scratch, built
#TechHistory#WomenInTech#InternetHistory
*
Richard MacManus

"Well, we don’t feel threatened." That's the Olim brothers — founders of dot-com online music retailer, CDnow — talking about Amazon. It's from a book they published in 1998 entitled "The CDnow Story: Rags to Riches on the Internet". At the start of '98, they were the leaders in online music retail. But in June 1998 [cue ominous music] Amazon branched out from books and added a Music tab to its fast growing e-commerce website... cybercultural.com/p/cdnow-amaz #InternetHistory #CDnow #Amazon

Cybercultural1998: How Amazon Conquered Online CD Retailers Like CDnow
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ResearchBuzz: Firehose

Tubefilter: 20 years of YouTube: In 2013, PewDiePie’s Brofist shook up the creator world. “[Felix] Kjellberg’s YouTube career now spans a decade and a half, but 2013 truly was his big moment. He became the platform’s most-subscribed creator in August of that year, and his channel established the 15-million-subscriber club in November. Oh, and did I mention he reportedly grossed $4 […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/06/30/20-years-of-youtube-in-2013-pewdiepies-brofist-shook-up-the-creator-world-tubefilter/

ResearchBuzz: Firehose | Individual posts from ResearchBuzz · 20 years of YouTube: In 2013, PewDiePie’s Brofist shook up the creator world (Tubefilter) | ResearchBuzz: Firehose
More from ResearchBuzz: Firehose
#internetculture#internethistory#pewdiepie
Richard MacManus

It took me ages to find screenshots of BowieNet as it looked on launch in September 1998, but I finally found some beauties. Oh, and I explain how BowieNet not only became the default online community for David Bowie fans, it also anticipated the social networks that would emerge in the 2000s, like Facebook and Reddit. cybercultural.com/p/bowienet-l #InternetHistory #BowieForever

CyberculturalLaunch of BowieNet and the First Inklings of Social Networks
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