Do you know what Facebook looked like in its early days? Or what the very first webcam broadcast online? Dive into the past with Internet Artifacts to relive the great history of the Web!
Do you know what the first webcam showed? Or what was the first item purchased on Amazon? QWhat was the first video posted on YouTube? To find out, we suggest you take a (virtual) tour of Internet Artificesa museum put online by Neal Agarwal, an American developer. You will find there, in chronological order, all the major events that have shaped the modern Web and marked several generations. From the very first Arpanet map in 1977, the military network which foreshadowed the Internet, to the presentation of the first iPhone in 2007, including the famous spot against piracy “You wouldn’t steal a car“was displayed before the films on DVD, you will discover the great firsts which marked the evolution of the Internet. And what’s more, it’s interactive!
Internet Artifacts: from the first Arpanet map to the first iPhone
By browsing the Internet Artifacts, you will discover – or rediscover for the oldest – the first home pages of Apple, Google, Wikipedia or even McDonald’s. You will also find the first tweet, Mark Zuckerberg’s first attempt in the world of social networks with TheFacebook, and even the first set of emojis, developed in Japan in 1997. It is also an opportunity to learn small funny anecdotes, which can give you the opportunity to show off in the evening. For example, did you know that, ironically, the music from the commercial for the famous anti-piracy spot had been used without the permission of the creator? Or that the first webcam was installed in 1993 in the computer laboratory of the University of Cambridge, in the United Kingdom, with the primary objective of keeping an eye on the quantity of coffee in the laboratory pot? It allowed researchers to see if there was enough to pour themselves a cup without having to leave their desk. The coffee maker eventually became an Internet attraction, with millions of people watching the webcam.
But the most interesting aspect of the site is that all the works are presented in their period packaging and that they are interactive. You can click on images, listen to music, browse web pages… So you can surf the very first McDonald’s site like we did in 1996, connect to America Online like in 1991, and even download the most popular MP3s of the time through a Napster window. A good dose of nostalgia for some, a real discovery for others!
