10 Networks That Existed Before the Internet as We Know It

How did we communicate before the Internet as we know it?  How did we network before My Space or Facebook?  I’m not sure so I had to go on a treasure hunt of sorts to familiarize myself with Networks of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s and early 2000’s.

I do remember an aged Aunt in Washington State who was using the computer before I had my own at my fingertips.  She was big into Ancestry and Prodigy was one of her main sources for contact and information.  I admired her and wondered into whose hands all her research landed.  Wow if she only had Ancestry.com, she may have traced the family back to the Disciples!!  Who knows?

From my research I learned the first e-mail success story was sent in 1971 from one computer to another beside it. It is now 40 years later and I can receive an e-mail from South Africa in minutes.  What a wonder and proof of advancement.

In 1978 a few short years later, the Bulletin Board System which actually exchanged data or messages from one computer to another.

One of the first web’s social networking programs was introduced in 1994.  Geocities was founded with the concept that users would be able to create their own web sites categorized by “six cities”.

Then the next year 1995, The Globe.com was introduced for users to personalize their own online experiencing by publishing their own content.  Users also used the globe.com for personal interaction.

In 1997 AOL was the first to introduce instant messaging.

I’m sure I was not computer savvy in 1997, for the next network which was introduced gave the user an opportunity to create and post their own profile as well as listing friends.  Sixdegrees.com

Friendster was launched in 2002 serving as the pioneer of real world friends.  Its first three months at least 3 million users had joined Friendster.

Where these next few fit in – I’m not sure but I must mention, prodigy, CompuServe, Genie.

Much of what we see on the web today, has evolved from early technology where technicians worked at connecting the world, if no other way but by the bucket brigade – where one Internet group passed data, or messages to another, and them to another, until the information reached to many parts of the world.

It is interesting to be living in this century with all its technology.  It seems to have made the world smaller, and people closer and yet I wonder if we communicate at all?