In these modern times, the internet is taken for granted. Nearly every aspect of life can be completed through some type of online portal, and usually with much less frustration and faster results than if you left your computer chair.

• Keep up to date with friends and family next door or around the world
• Visit favorite retailer stores without leaving your house and facing crowds
• Entertain yourself with a lifetime’s worth of multimedia
• Pay bills, save money, and manage your finances online

But have you ever thought where this ever-expanding digital marvel began?

No. Not the basement of a college nerd—but close.

Today’s internet started as a government project for research and defense. It was conceived from the development of two primary networks:

• ARPANET – A US military network. It produced several of the fundamental protocols used by the internet. The threat of nuclear attack during the Cold War fueled the development of a decentralized network.
• CYCLADES – Similar to ARPANET, but this French network focused on efficient and effective data transmission. The inter-communication between its smaller network nodes became coined as “inter-net.”

I won’t bore you with the technical details of how the internet developed–but for the curious, I recommend you check out this “History Of The Internet” video at Vimeo.com.

History of the Internet from PICOL on Vimeo.

Fast forward to today where internet connections are reaching phenomenal levels.  In order to be grateful for the level of technology that is easily accessible to us and how much more convenient it has made our lives, I think it’s important for users to understand where we came from.

I’ve been fortunate to be able to have experienced a broad spectrum of technology. Just in the last five years–from waiting several minutes to check an email account via dial-up, to downloading music and movies on demand over a 10 Mbit connection—internet technology has come a long ways. I know I’m excited and optimistic about the future of the internet and I hope you feel the same.