Internet timeline

Nov 29 1969

Prediction on Computer and Internet

1981

Early Report of the First Online Newspaper

Channel 4 KRON in San Francisco reports on the first use of the Internet by newspapers. Eight newspapers are in the network. Watch the... Read more

Aug 6 1991

The World Wide Web Becomes Publicly Available on the Internet

Nobody was paying attention to Tim Berners-Lee and his pet idea. He was a young British scientist at CERN, a high-energy physics lab in Geneva, and... Read more

1995

GeoCities is Founded as Beverly Hills Internet (BHI)

Beverly Hills Internet opened today four additional virtual communities based on real-world locations, raising to 10 the number of interactive... Read more

Nov 1996

eToys is Founded

We are the leading Web-based retailer focused exclusively on children's products, including toys, video games, software, videos and music. We... Read more

1998

Boo.com is Founded

Boo.com was a British Internet company founded by Swedes Ernst Malmsten, Kajsa Leander and Patrik Hedelin that famously went bust following the... Read more

1998

Flooz.com is Founded

Flooz.com was a dot-com venture, now defunct, based in New York City that went online in February 1999, promoted by comic actress Whoopi Goldberg... Read more

1998

Go.com is Founded

Go.com (also known as The Go Network) is a web portal first launched by Jeff Gold, and now operated by the Walt Disney Internet Group, which is a... Read more

1998

Kozmo.com is Founded

Kozmo.com was a venture-capital-driven online company that promised free one-hour delivery of anything from DVD rentals to Starbucks coffee in the... Read more

1998

Pets.com is Founded

Another important dot-com lesson was that advertising, no matter how clever, cannot save you. Take online pet-supply store Pets.com. Its talking... Read more

1999

Gov.Works.com is Founded

Last but certainly not least, the story of GovWorks.com was good enough to become the documentary Startup.com, which chronicles its brief life.... Read more

1999

Kibu.com is Founded

Unlike the other flops listed here, Kibu.com, an online community for teenage girls, didn't wait till the very end to wave the white flag. In... Read more

1999

MVP.com is Founded

Like Planet Hollywood and Flooz.com, MVP.com proved that celebrity endorsements are worth nothing in the long run. Backed by sports greats John... Read more

1999

Webvan is Founded

A core lesson from the dot-com boom is that even if you have a good idea, it's best not to grow too fast too soon. But online grocer Webvan was the... Read more

Mar 10 2000

Dot-com Bubble Reaches Peak

Over 1999 and early 2000, the Federal Reserve had increased interest rates six times, and the economy was beginning to lose speed. The dot-com... Read more

Oct 2003

AOL Time Warner Drops "AOL" From Name in Wake of Dot-Com Bubble Burst

In 2000, a new company called AOL Time Warner, with Steve Case as chairman, was created when AOL purchased Time Warner for US$164 bn. The deal,... Read more

Oct 8 2004

George W. Bush Coins the Term "Internets"

"Internets" is a Bushism-turned-catchphrase used humorously to portray the speaker as ignorant about the Internet or about technology in general,... Read more

Dec 6 2004

"Numa Numa" First Appears on Newgrounds.com

The Numa Numa phenomenon was first popularized by Gary Brolsma's release of Numa Numa Dance onto Newgrounds.com on December 6, 2004. The video... Read more

Jun 4 2007

Jon "DocEvil" Hendren Coins the Term 'Wikigroaning'

On June 4, 2007, website columnist Jon "DocEvil" Hendren wrote "The Art of Wikigroaning", coining the term wikigroaning. Wikigroaning is a game in... Read more

Apr 11 2009