Things have certainly changed on the Internet since 1996. A mere 15 years ago, the web has taken giant leaps in terms of reliability, accessibility and interactivity.
Back in 1996, basically everything on the Internet was brand new. It was hard to use, unreliable, and still hard to figure out why it’s worth dialing up and accessing. These instructions (embedded below) just surfaced on Technologizer and they detail some amusing ‘advantages’ and ‘disadvantages’ of Internet usage. Here are my favorites:
Advantages
- Easy access: Lots of information is available. (sweet!)
- Interactivity: There are many interactive applications on the Internet like hyperlinks (ohh links!)
Disadvantages
- Reliability: It’s hard to tell where much of the information on the Internet comes from (some things don’t change, it seems)
- Organization: It can be hard to find the info you want because there is lots of information on the Internet and very little organization (has this improved?)
All in all, not much has changed on the Internet since 1996. Sure, websites and other tools are a lot easier to use and connections are faster but judging by this list… we still have a long way to go.
Looking for a glimpse into what the Internet actually looked like in 1996? Check out this site or visit the Wayback Machine and punch in any date in history. It’s wildly addicting and a huge time-suck. You’ve been warned!
This reminds me of a very appropriate infographic originally posted on Edudemic here:
