Wednesday 12 March was

25th Anniversary of the World Wide Web

On March 12th, 1989, Sir Tim Berners-Lee put forth a proposal to make information sharing possible over computers, using nodes and links to create a "web" that would eventually stretch worldwide and become the modern internet.

The development of the World Wide Web changed the world we live in. Since its introduction 25 years ago personal and professional lives have never been the same.

It changed the way we workIt changed the way we communicateIt changed the way we shopIt changed the way we find informationIt changed the way we learn

Without the internet, there would be no smartphones, laptop computers, or tablets - at least, not the way they're used now. In fact, most of the tools we use to work at home or on the road would be non-existent.

From creating entirely new jobs to allowing other occupations to move out of the office, the web has changed the way we work. Over 30 million people now work at home at least once a week, in part because the internet makes it possible to do many jobs from anywhere there's an internet connection.

In 2012, 33 million adults used the internet daily, compared with 16 million in 2006, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) . Over the same period, the percentage of people who say they never use the internet more than halved, from 36 per cent in 2006 to 16 per cent last year.

The most popular online activities were:

Sending and receiving email (73 per cent), followed by Researching goods and services and reading the news.Social networking - almost half of adults - 48 per cent - said they use a site. For those aged between 16 and 24, the percentage was 87 per cent, making social networking the most popular online activity for that age group.Another growing online activity was telephone and video calling, with the percentage of adults saying they had used the internet for voice or video calls doubling from 16 per cent in 2009 to 32 per cent last year.

“British internet users double in six years” – source Daily Telegraph 13 March 2014

So what was life like before the Internet,

Digital technology and the World Wide Web?

Before the Internet. T.V was a popular source of electronic entertainment.

Pre Internet TV was very different to the flat screen digital technology we have now.

In the 70’s and most of the 80’s we only had 3 channels.BBC1, BBC2 and ITV

Channel 4 was launched in 1982 and was considered a big step forward in TV entertainment.

TV stopped broadcasting at 12 midnight.

Daytime T.V was unheard of back then and often you would see the “Test Card” image on your T.V in the middle of the day.

The first video recorders were considered a major breakthrough. For the first time we were able to record and re watch our favourite shows.

Television

Mobile phones were introduced to the consumer market in the early 80’s.

However; they were big, bulky, heavy and incredibly expensive.

They only worked in certain big cities and were prominently

used by high powered business people,

often paid for by their companies.

Mobile Technology

If you wanted to make a call while you were away from

home.

You had to use a PUBLIC PAYPHONE

These were often vandalised and out of order!

Before GoogleWe can access information online instantly.

We are now the generation of instant information without having to leave the house.

What did we do before information Gurus like GOOGLE?

People went to Library's and searched through shelves and catalogues of information.

Students were encouraged to buy Encyclopaedias.

If you wanted to buy antiques ebay didn’t exist, you had to write to a company for a sales list and often by the time it reached you the item was sold!

Pre-Digital PhotographyBefore the digital and smartphone cameras. Photographic technology was not instant.

You would send your reel of film away and it could take anything up to three weeks to be processed.

The waiting time became shorter as high street shops offered a 1 hour processing service.

The first instant cameras were big and bulky containing a mini lab within the camera.

The photo would take 60 seconds to develop.

Although the photo was instant, the quality was compromised.

Booking Travel and HolidaysBooking flights and holidays on the internet is an easy and convenient process.

Before the internet people went to travel agents who did the booking for you.

You would search your desired holiday using brochures.

To speed up the process the booking could be made via the telephone, but you still had to wait for the post.

You can now even print out your ticket instantly and even choose your seat.

E commerce has now made holiday booking administration almost a thing of the past.

Music DownloadsThe concept of downloading music was something of Science Fiction movies in the 70’s and early 80’s.

Music was bought on vinyl or cassette. These were the two major consumer formats for many years.

To make music more mobile playback devices were made smaller and the when the first Sony Walkman was developed it was the biggest selling item of its time.

Unlike modern day iPods and MP3 players that can hold a catalogue of music that can be accessed at the touch of a button, the Walkman simply played 1 single cassette and skipping from one track to another took a lot of time and battery power.

Pre-Internet ShoppingThe only similarity to internet shopping and pre internet shopping was the fact that both could be done at home.

In the pre-internet days people would use catalogues to choose their items and order them via the post or telephone.

However; unlike todays internet shopping, you were limited to just one or two companies and were unable to make quick price comparisons.

Shopping for items abroad for a better deal was virtually impossible.

This proves that todays e-commerce is truly a global market.

Filofax The pre-digital Tablet

GamingPre internet electronic games were very popular in the 70’s and 80’s.

Often designed with a simply electronic circuit run by batteries, these games made popular Christmas presents and were the envy of every child who owned one.

One of the most popular pre internet games on the market was SIMON.

This was the MUST HAVE gadget of that time.

Other games included PACMAN, SPACE INVADERSand OPERATION.

Social NetworkingBefore internet social networking:

People were encouraged to have a few “Pen Pals”

Pen pals were often people of your own age, from abroad, who you wrote to using traditional postal methods on a monthly basis.

This form of communication was not instant and letter could take anything up to 2 weeks to be received.

Social NetworkingFor more instant communication with friends

Young people joined local “Youth Clubs”

Here you could play sports, listen to music,and chat with your friends in “Real Time”.