A Brief History of the Internet - First Website, First Meme.
The first video was really interesting to me because I think it introduced a lot of concepts that I have been reflecting on recently. First, it spoke about how the Internet was created in the 1970s but the first webpage was created in 1990. So, the public didn't have access until the 90s with the web crawler Internet search engine that was created in 1994. I thought that it was interesting to note that Google later did what Webcrawler did, but better. This concept is interesting because some of the best things out there are better iterations of things that already exist. This can be applied in terms of the Internet but also in terms of other inventions.
Another really important aspect of the Internet is social media. This allows for communication and connectivity. In 2004 Facebook was created, and 2005 YouTube was created. My aunt and uncle actually went to school with Mark Zuckerberg. They told me the “Facebook story” from their point of view. I remember them explaining that Zuckerberg was a kind of weirdo who created Facebook as a sort of look book of female students and their attractiveness for the male Harvard population.
It's also interesting that there are so many different perceptions of viral memes. In 1982 the smiley face meme was created :-). This was created as a way to express emotion over a computer. Other memes are an extension of this. A meme that may be more like those that we consider to be memes today is the dancing baby meme, created in 1996.
I also thought it was important to note that media laws are now more necessary than ever.
The early internet is breaking - here’s how the World Wide Web from the 90s on will be saved
The second video spoke about the drive to save the early Internet that is disappearing. The old Internet was difficult to navigate, but also had a sense of individuality, and originality that the current and modern Internet does not.
It also spoke about Geocities—interesting because we are creating content on Neocities. Geocities was a sort of early social media platform in which its users referred to themselves as netizens or citizens of the net. This emphasizes the importance and prevalence of community among the users of the early Internet. This is among the things that is disappearing, but that users are now trying to get back.
The video spoke to the notion that the Internet is meant to be a home or a destination. There is a sense of personality and community among website communities. This is something that we have to work to re-embrace.