Beginning During the Cold War, the United States was worried that the Soviet Union might destroy its communication systems in a nuclear attack. To solve this problem, they needed a communication network that could still function even if parts of it were destroyed. The idea was to connect computers through cables so messages could be sent using different routes if one part of the network went down. After years of research, this led to the creation of ARPANET in 1969, the first network that allowed computers to send messages to each other. This was the beginning of what we now call the internet. The First Website In 1989, scientist Tim Berners-Lee came up with a new way for researchers to easily access and share scientific work. He proposed something called the World Wide Web, a system that connected documents using hyperlinks. Every computer on the internet has a unique number called an IP address, but those numbers are hard to remember. That’s why the Domain Name System (DNS) was developed in 1983, allowing people to use simple website names like frostas.com instead of typing long IP addresses. Thanks to these innovations, on August 6, 1991, the first website in history was launched: https://info.cern.ch The First Web Browsers In 1993, a web browser called Mosaic was launched. It was the first widely used graphical web browser, which means it could show images and text together, making the internet easier and more enjoyable for everyone to use. JavaScript – Making the Web Interactive In 1995, Brendan Eich created JavaScript, a programming language that added interactivity to web pages. Without JavaScript, modern features like buttons, sliders, popups, and online games wouldn't be possible. CSS – Making the Web Beautiful In 1996, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) was introduced. It allowed developers to style their websites controlling fonts, colors, layouts, and spacing — without messing with the HTML content. This made websites look clean and professional. The Beginning of Web 2.0 In the early 2000s, the internet started to change. Instead of just reading information, users could now create and share content. This era became known as Web 2.0. Social platforms like Facebook (2004), YouTube (2005), Twitter (2006), and personal blogs allowed people to connect, post videos, comment, and interact online like never before. The Onion Network (Tor & the Deep Web) In the 1990s, researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory developed a system called onion routing, which allowed anonymous communication online. In 2002, this technology was released to the public as the Tor Project. The goal was to let users browse and send data without revealing their identity or location. Today, Tor is widely used to access the deep web and dark web, and it’s a tool for privacy, journalism, and unfortunately also illegal activity. Blockchain and Web3 In 2009, a new technology called blockchain was introduced with the launch of Bitcoin. It allowed people to send money digitally without needing banks. From this idea, Web3 was born, a new vision for the internet where users control their data using blockchain. It powers cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and decentralized apps (DApps). While still growing, Web3 has gained popularity in the tech world, though it hasn’t yet gone fully mainstream. Rise of AI Artificial Intelligence (AI) has existed for decades, but it exploded in popularity with the release of GPT-3 in 2020 and ChatGPT in 2022 by OpenAI. Today, AI is used in everything, from chatbots and writing tools to image generators and voice assistants. It’s quickly becoming one of the most important parts of the modern internet. Thanks for reading this quick journey through the history of the internet :) If you enjoyed it, feel free to leave a comment and join our Telegram channel for future updates: https://t.me/FrostasOfficial