Not that any of us had a clue at the time, but it was 40 years ago today that the Internet revolution that has upended journalism as we know it got its start in a lab at UCLA.
As AP technology reporter Anick Jesdanun reports, founders of the network known as Arpanet stood by Sept. 2, 1969 as “two bulky computers passed meaningless test data through a 15-foot gray cable.”
And the Internet was born.
Do you know…
… what year CompuServe was founded?
… when IBM introduced floppy disks?
… which newsrooms started using VDTs first or created a computer database for reporting?
… when Steve Jobs introduced the first Apple?
… about videotex and when Knight Ridder started using it?
… remember Prodigy?
… what AOL was originally named?
… which newspaper went online first?
… what year national news networks launched Web sites?
… when the Drudge Report first broke news?
… when the Online Publishers Association was founded?
… how many newspapers were online when Google News launched?
… which launched first, MySpace, Skype, YouTube or Facebook?
For most all important related developments, I recommend the comprehensive resource created and maintained by my colleague, Poynter library director David Shedden: The New Media Timeline 1969-2008.
What media moments would you like to see listed in the timeline, which will be getting a new design this year?
