How old is the internet?
What have you done today to make the internet better?
There’s a couple of different ways to think about the age of the Internet. On one hand, you can measure how long the technology behind the Internet has existed. On the other, you can consider how long ago the world wide web – as most actually call the internet today – was born. Here, we take a look at both.
How old is the technology that makes the Internet possible?
In 2017, the technology responsible for the creation of the internet turns 48. Its life began in 1969, when computers at several universities in the US became connected for the first time. These universities included Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Harvard and Stanford.
At that time, the internet wasn’t referred to by its current name, but was called the APRANET instead. APRA is an acronym for the Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is the body that developed the technology. It is an agency of the the U.S. Department of Defence and was founded in 1958.
How old is the world wide web?
The world wide web, which is the form in which most of us know the internet today, started 20 years later, in 1989. That means it turns 28 in 2017.
The world wide web was invented by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, an English computer scientist. He put forward the idea in March 1989 and, in the middle of November, oversaw the first communication between a server and a user of HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol).
Today, Sir Berners-Lee, who turns 66 in 2017, continues his involvement in the world wide web, in the position of director of the W3C (the World Wide Web Consortium).
How big is the world wide web?
Given how easy it is to add – or delete – pages from the world wide web, its size is in continual flux. You don’t have to be part of a web design agency, creative agency or digital marketing agency to add or subtract from the Internet. Between December 2016 and February 2017, the number of pages on the world wide web fluctuated between 47 billion and 50 billion.
About iFactory
iFactory is a leading digital agency in Brisbane. Founded in 2004, it provides a variety of services, including web development, web design, application development and digital marketing. You’ll find iFactory’s expert team tucked away in a former printing factory in the Breakfast Creek Heritage Precinct in historic Bowen Hills. Get in touch to see how we can help you make your presence felt on the internet.
