The world has changed a lot in the last 25 years. The internet, social media, and mobile technology are some of the most significant changes we’ve seen since then; but how much has changed?
To better understand the difference, let’s take a look at how the world has changed in just one tiny spot on Earth: Silicon Valley.
It was 1996 when entrepreneurs and investors began pouring into Silicon Valley to make their fortunes in tech. The company that started this idea was Netscape, which opened a whole new world of web possibilities with the release of its Navigator browser. The rest is history; by 1998, 9 million people were online, and AOL had become a global powerhouse. How fast we have progressed since then. It’s hard to imagine what our world will be like 20 years from now. With new technology coming every day, it’s amazing what we will see in just two decades.
1) Streaming Services
In 1996, the first streaming service was launched. It included a few channels and movies and by 1998, it had launched over 8 channels, including video games and music videos. By 2006 the number had increased to over 40. After Netflix released its streaming service in 2007, its subscriber base didn’t stop growing. Over 100 million users were online by 2012. Today we can watch shows on Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, or Netflix from anywhere in the world in just a few minutes or less.
Consider for a moment the technical challenges that companies like Netflix had to solve. It’s no simple task to transmit thousands of hours of content and make sure it’s all there when your customers are on a wide range of different devices. Without an api gateway managing the requests, this wouldn’t be possible.
2) Social Media
Social media is one of the most significant parts of today’s world. The biggest social network, Facebook, has over 2 billion users and the number is increasing every day. On this platform, we can have discussions with friends, publicize events, or just see what other people are doing in their lives.
Twitter was launched in 2006 and it allows people to send short messages of up to 280 characters in length: like a text message but with more options.
3) Mobile Phones
In 1996, every part of Silicon Valley was about computers and laptops. Today, mobile phones are all about staying connected with your friends and family at any given time of any day.
The growth of mobile phones has led to the development of apps. In 2007, the first iPhone was launched and it was the beginning of a new trend. Since then, mobile technology has become more popular than ever before. By 2017, there were 10 million apps available on Google Play Store and iTunes.
Apple developed the App Store in 2008 with which people could download games, social media applications, or other types. It’s not only a store where you can find free games but also where developers can make money if their app is successful enough. For example, a regular game will cost you between $0.99 and $9.
Even though the world has changed dramatically in the last 20 years, there are still some issues that need to be worked on and improved.
For humanity to continue growing, we must achieve incredible new things. The internet is a great example of how our planet is rapidly changing; it connects us all, gives us endless opportunities, and allows people to express themselves more freely than ever before.
In 1996 our planet was a very different place from what it is today.
