My World: The Web has come a long way!

I stumbled upon this video while scrolling through Twitter the other evening. The very fact I found it on social media and it relates to the opening concept of the internet is quite ironic in itself.

Back in 1995, famous DJ Pete Tong read out the web address live on air and listeners were astonished.

Well, I imagine they were astonished. I was four at the time so I can’t really remember these sorts of events happening, but the video below shows that they did indeed take place.

I’ve said it in this column before and I’ll say it again, kids just slightly younger than myself will not be able to remember the internet taking over, it will be just as normal as the air we breathe and the earth we walk on.

But if this video highlights anything, it is how far the web has come in a relatively short space of time. We are in a technological era, and there’s no getting away from that.

Tiny URLs, quick links and instant access has driven us all into a world online, but it wasn’t always that way.

You have to remember too, that this concept will have been just as new to Pete Tong as it was to the people who were listening.

You really get the impression he hasn’t a clue what he is talking about, which is fair enough. It is purely just a list of letters and characters to him, and probably to his listeners too.

I wonder if the general Joe Bloggs back then had any idea about what the internet would turn into and the power it would possess.

I assume not, I assume they were wondering what the hell was going off and when this internet fad would die down, I also assume they are still waiting.

I read a book recently called ‘The Circle’ which related to this, a look into the not too distant future to see what big internet corporations would look like and how we as consumers would interact with them.

While looking forward can be interesting and eye-opening, looking back can map out a significant journey, a journey the world wide web has been on for over 20 years now.

But just to listen to Pete Tong’s reading is quite eye opening, and the fact that you would need a pen and paper to write the address down didn’t bode well   it’s a wonder this internet malarkey ever really took off, isn’t it?

What do you remember about the internet’s early years? Let me know by commenting below!