---
title: "World Wide Web Timeline"
description: "A timeline of the major milestones and small moments that have shaped the Web since 1989."
date: "2014-03-11"
authors:
  - name: "No Author"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2014/03/11/world-wide-web-timeline/"
categories:
  - "Future of the Internet (Project)"
  - "Platforms & Services"
---

# World Wide Web Timeline

*Since its founding in 1989, the World Wide Web has touched the lives of billions of people around the world and fundamentally changed how we connect with others, the nature of our work, how we discover and share news and new ideas, how we entertain ourselves and how communities form and function. *

*The timeline below is the beginning of an effort to capture both the major milestones and small moments that have shaped the Web since 1989. It is a living document that we will update with your contributions. To suggest an item to add to the timeline, please [message us](https://www.pewresearch.org/contact-form/#General-Inquiry).*

### 1989

-

[![original-proposal](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2014/03/original-proposal-300x268.gif)](http://www.w3.org/History/1989/proposal.html)

The World Wide Web [begins](http://home.web.cern.ch/topics/birth-web) as a CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) project called ENQUIRE, initiated by British scientist [Tim Berners-Lee](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Berners-Lee). Other names [considered for the project](http://thenextweb.com/insider/2011/08/06/how-the-world-wide-web-was-nearly-called-the-information-mesh/#!xKjBQ) include “The Information Mesh” and “The Mine of Information.”

- AOL [launches its Instant Messenger chat service](http://corp.aol.com/2010/05/24/youve-got-25-years-aol-celebrates-25th-anniversary-with-bi/) and begins welcoming users with the iconic greeting ["You've got mail!"](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFBLiHpkcOk)

### 1990

[caption id="attachment_10980" align="alignright" width="300"][![800px-First_Web_Server](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2014/03/800px-First_Web_Server-300x225.jpg)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NeXT#1987.E2.80.931993:_NeXT_Computer) The NeXT Computer used by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN. (Wikipedia)[/caption]
- 42% of American adults have used a computer.
- World's first website and server [go live at CERN](http://timeline.web.cern.ch/timelines/the-history-of-cern/overlay#1990-12-20), running on Tim Berners-Lee's NeXT computer, which bears the message "This machine is a server. DO NOT POWER DOWN!"
- Tim Berners-Lee develops the first Web browser [WorldWideWeb](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WorldWideWeb).
- [Archie](http://archie.icm.edu.pl/archie-adv_eng.html), the first tool to search the internet is developed by McGill University student Alan Emtage.

### 1991

-

![xcoffee](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2014/03/xcoffee.gif)

Researchers rig up a [live shot of a coffee pot](http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/coffee/qsf/coffee.html) so they could tell from their computer screens when a fresh pot had been brewed. Later [connected to](http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/coffee/qsf/timeline.html) the World Wide Web, it becomes the first webcam.

### 1992

- The term "[surfing the internet](http://www.netmom.com/about-net-mom/23-who-invented-surfing-the-internet.html)" is coined and popularized.
-  [caption id="attachment_10918" align="alignright" width="300"][![LHC5](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2014/03/LHC5-300x238.jpg)](http://musiclub.web.cern.ch/MusiClub/bands/cernettes/press_info.html) Credit: Silvano de Gennaro / CERN[/caption]

Tim Berners-Lee posts the [first photo](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/9391110/How-the-first-photo-was-posted-on-the-Web-20-years-ago.html), of the band "Les Horribles Cernettes," on the Web.

- The [line-mode browser launches](http://home.web.cern.ch/topics/birth-web). It is the first readily accessible browser for the World Wide Web.

### 1993

- CERN [places its World Wide Web technology in the public domain](http://tenyears-www.web.cern.ch/tenyears-www/Welcome.html), donating it to the world.
- The National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) [releases Mosaic 1.0](http://www.nsf.gov/about/history/nsf0050/internet/mosaic.htm), the first web browser to become popular with the general public. "The web as we know it begins to flourish," Wired [later writes](http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2010/04/0422mosaic-web-browser/).
- The New York Times [writes about the Web browser Mosaic and the World Wide Web](http://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/08/business/business-technology-a-free-and-simple-computer-link.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm) for the first time. "Think of it as a map to the buried treasures of the Information Age."
- Marc Andreessen [proposes](http://1997.webhistory.org/www.lists/www-talk.1993q1/0182.html) the IMG HTML tag to allow the display of images on the Web.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDxqfgIDvEY

### 1994

- 11 million American households are "[equipped to ride the information superhighway](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/legacy-pdf/582.pdf)."
-

![pizzanet](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2014/03/pizzanet-300x152.png)

One of the first known Web purchases takes place: [a pepperoni pizza with mushrooms and extra cheese from Pizza Hut](http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/230620).

- President Bill Clinton’s White House [comes online](http://clinton1.nara.gov/).
- [Yahoo! is created](http://web.archive.org/web/20080213120416/http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/press/timeline.cfm) by Stanford University graduate students Jerry Yang and David Filo. They originally named the site "Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web."
-

![first-banner](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2014/03/first-banner-300x35.gif)

The [first banner ad](http://www.theguardian.com/media-network/media-network-blog/2013/dec/12/first-ever-banner-ad-advertising) for hotwired.com appears, with the text "Have you ever clicked your mouse right HERE? ---> YOU WILL."

- Two lawyers [post the first massive, commercial spam message](http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/1999/04/19098) with the subject "Green Card Lottery -Final One?"

### 1995

- 18 million American homes are now online, but [only 3% of online users have ever signed on to the World Wide Web](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/1995/10/16/americans-going-online-explosive-growth-uncertain-destinations/).
-

![amazon](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2014/03/amazon-300x194.jpg)

Amazon.com [opens for business](http://www.amazon.com/Careers-Homepage/b?ie=UTF8&node=239364011), billing itself as the "Earth's Biggest Bookstore."

- Craig Newmark starts [craigslist](http://www.craigslist.org/about/factsheet), originally an email list of San Francisco events.
- Match.com, the first online dating site, [launches](http://iac.com/brand/matchcom).
- Entrepreneur Pierre Omidyar [launches eBay](http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-03-21-ebay-cover_x.htm), originally named "AuctionWeb." He lists the first item for sale: [a broken laser pointer](http://mashable.com/2010/08/07/ebay-facts/). A collector purchases it for $14.83.
- Chris Lamprecht becomes the first person to be [banned from the internet ](http://archive.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/1997/12/8854)by judicial decree. "I told the judge computers were my life," Lamprecht later recalled.
- Netscape IPO [starts the gold rush mentality](http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2005/07/25/8266639/) for Web startups.
- Microsoft releases [Windows 95](http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/history#T1=era3) and the [first version of Internet Explorer](http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/history#T1=era4).
- Web hosting service [GeoCities](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geocities) launches.

### 1996

- 77% of online users [send or receive e-mail](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/1996/12/16/news-attracts-most-internet-users/) at least once every few weeks, up from 65% in 1995.
-

![nokia-9000i](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2014/03/nokia-9000i-300x183.jpg)

Nokia [releases the Nokia 9000 Communicator](http://conversations.nokia.com/2009/01/19/history-of-nokia-part-one-nokia-firsts/), the first cellphone with internet capabilities.

- HoTMaiL launches as [one of the world's first Webmail services](http://blogs.windows.com/windows_live/b/windowslive/archive/2010/01/06/a-short-history-of-hotmail.aspx), its name a reference to the HTML internet language used to build webpages.
- [The Dancing Baby](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing_Baby), a 3D animation, becomes one of the first viral videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5x5OXfe9KY

### 1997

- Millions ["visit Mars – on the internet"](http://articles.latimes.com/1997/jul/14/news/mn-12550) – the Jet Propulsion Lab allows people to watch the Sojourner rover landing and exploration of Mars. The broadcast generates about 40 million to 45 million hits each day.

[![pathfinder_internet](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2014/03/pathfinder_internet.jpg)](http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/press/cnn/)

- Netflix [launches as a company](https://signup.netflix.com/Press#timeline) that sends DVDs to homes via mail.
- [Go Daddy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_Daddy#History) launches as Jomax Technologies.
- Google.com [registers as a domain](http://www.google.com/about/company/history/).
- Jorn Barger [becomes the first person to use the term "Weblog"](http://www.wired.com/entertainment/theweb/news/2007/12/blog_anniversary) to describe the list of links on his website.

### 1998

-

![aol_old_cdrom_122810](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2014/03/aol_old_cdrom_122810-150x150.jpg)

20% of Americans [get news from the internet](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/1998/06/08/internet-news-takes-off/) at least once a week, up from 4% in 1995.

- AOL launches AOL 4.0 and [inundates American homes with CD-ROM mailers](http://www.quora.com/AOL-History/How-much-did-it-cost-AOL-to-distribute-all-those-CDs-back-in-the-1990s). AOL membership jumps from 8 million to 16 million members.
- The Internet Corporations for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) [takes over responsibility](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICANN) for the coordination of the global internet's systems of unique identifiers.
- [Oxford Dictionary adds "spam" and "digerati."](http://archive.is/Bv1s)

### 1999

- Pew Research Center [tests online polling](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/1999/01/27/online-polling-offer-mixed-results/) with mixed results.
- 41% of adults are using the internet and [the weather is the most popular online news attraction](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/1999/01/14/the-internet-news-audience-goes-ordinary/).

![300px-Napster_corporate_logo.svg](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2014/03/300px-Napster_corporate_logo.svg_.png)

- MP3 downloading service Napster launches, overloading high-speed networks in college dormitories. [Many colleges ban the service](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/942090.stm) and it is later shut down for enabling the illegal sharing of music files.
- Yahoo! [acquires GeoCities](http://money.cnn.com/1999/01/28/technology/yahoo_a/) for $3.6 billion.

### 2000

- 43% of internet users say they [would miss going online](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2000/05/10/tracking-online-life/) "a lot," up from 32% in 1995.
- 78% of internet users who download music [don’t think it’s stealing](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2000/09/28/downloading-free-music/) to save music files to their computer hard drives.
-  40 million Americans – or 48% of internet users – [have purchased a product online](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2002/12/29/part-5-online-commerce-swims-against-the-tide-of-falling-consumer-confidence/).

- 32% of internet users (over 30 million people) [sent e-greeting cards](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2000/12/31/the-holidays-online-2000/) to loved ones and friends.
-  [caption id="attachment_10925" align="alignright" width="300"][![Nasdaq2](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2014/03/Nasdaq2-300x230.png)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dot-com_bubble#The_bubble_bursts) The NASDAQ spiked in the late 90s and then fell sharply.[/caption]

The NASDAQ hits a record high of 5,048, [before plunging by 78%](http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2005/mar/10/newmedia.media) during the dot com bust. A 2001 survey finds 71% of Americans who had heard about the dot com troubles [believe a major cause of the dot-com woes](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2001/11/14/the-dot-com-meltdown-and-the-web/) is that investors were eager to make a lot of money and took at lot of risks.

- AOL acquires Time Warner for $165 billion. [New York Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/11/business/media-megadeal-overview-america-online-agrees-buy-time-warner-for-165-billion.html) says "it could be the internet companies that do the buying and the old media that sell out."

### 2001

- [Only 3% of internet users](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2001/09/15/how-americans-used-the-internet-after-the-terror-attack/) say they got most of their information about the 9/11 attacks and the aftermath from the internet.
-  The average internet user spends [83 minutes](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2002/03/03/getting-serious-online-as-americans-gain-experience-they-pursue-more-serious-activities/) online.

- Jimmy Wales launches [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Wikipedia). Users write over 20,000 encyclopedia entries in the first year.

### 2002

- 55 million people now [go online from work](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2002/03/03/getting-serious-online-as-americans-gain-experience-they-pursue-more-serious-activities/) and 44% of those who have internet access at work say their use of the internet helps them do their jobs.
-  [caption id="attachment_10923" align="alignright" width="300"]![Screenshot by Wired](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2014/03/friendster-300x142.png) Screenshot by Wired[/caption]

Social networking site Friendster.com launches, but is quickly [overtaken by Facebook](http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/02/friendster-autopsy/).

- Microsoft launches [Xbox Live](http://www.examiner.com/article/xbox-live-service-celebrates-tenth-anniversary), its online multiplayer gaming service."Critics scoffed at the idea, noting how uncommon broadband connections were at the time."

### 2003

-  [caption id="attachment_10924" align="alignright" width="300"][![Credit: CNET](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2014/03/042803itunes1-300x249.gif)](http://news.cnet.com/2100-1027-998590.html#) Credit: CNET[/caption]

Apple [launches the iTunes Music Store](http://www.apple.com/pr/products/ipodhistory/) with 200,000 songs at 99¢ each. The store sells one million songs in its first week.

- Skype, a voice-over-IP calling and instant messaging service, [launches](http://www.skype.com/en/about/) and quickly becomes a verb, as in "Skype me."
- Professional networking site [LinkedIn](http://press.linkedin.com/about/) launches.
- MySpace.com [is founded](http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-01-08-myspace-teens_x.htm) and quickly adopted by musicians seeking to share music and build their fan bases.
- President George W. Bush [signs the CAN-SPAM Act into law](http://www.business.ftc.gov/documents/bus61-can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business), establishing the first national standards for the sending of commercial email.
- [Wordpress](https://codex.wordpress.org/History) blog publishing system created.

### 2004

- 11% of American internet users [follow the returns on election night](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2005/01/30/the-internet-and-election-night/) online. One-in-ten internet users [sign up for political email newsletters](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2005/01/17/email-and-the-2004-campaign/) and news alerts during the campaign.
-

![Thefacebook](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2014/03/Thefacebook-300x199.png)

Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg launches thefacebook.com. 1,200 Harvard students sign up [within the first 24 hours](http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2007/jul/25/media.newmedia). Facebook goes on to become the world's biggest social networking site, with over a billion users worldwide.

- Google starts trading on the NASDAQ at [$85 a share](http://money.cnn.com/2004/08/18/technology/googleipo/).
- Social news website [Digg](http://digg.com/about) launches. Digg users vote to "digg up" links that they like and "bury" down those they don't.
- [Mozilla releases Firefox 1.0](https://blog.mozilla.org/press/ataglance/company-timeline/).
- Massively multiplayer online role-playing game(MMORPG) [World of Warcraft](http://www.wowwiki.com/Timeline_(World_of_Warcraft)) launches.

### 2005

- 8% of adult American internet users say they [participate in sports fantasy leagues](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2005/06/17/online-sports-fantasy-leagues/) online.
- 9% of internet users (13 million Americans) [went online to donate money](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2005/11/24/13-million-americans-made-donations-online-after-hurricanes-katrina-and-rita/) to the victims of Gulf Coast hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
-  About one-in-six online adults – 25 million people – [have sold something online](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2005/11/27/about-25-million-people-have-used-the-internet-to-sell-something/).

- [Broadband connections](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/three-technology-revolutions/) surpass dial-up connections.
- Community news site [Reddit](http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2011/10/14/a-rundown-of-reddits-history-and-community-infographic/) is founded. It is bought by Conde Nast a year later for $20 million.
- Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. [buys MySpace](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4695495.stm) for $580 million and [sells it](http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/29/news-corp-sells-myspace-to-specific-media-for-35-million/) in 2011 for $35 million.
- YouTube is founded on Valentine's Day. The [first video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw), an explanation of what's cool about elephants, is uploaded by co-founder Jawed Karim on April 23. Google acquires the company a year later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw

### 2006

- The late Senator Ted Stevens describes the internet as “a series of tubes,” during a 2006 speech on net neutrality. His quote is [mocked by Boing Boing](http://boingboing.net/2006/07/02/sen-stevens-hilariou.html) and the [Daily Show](http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-july-12-2006/headlines---internet) and inspires YouTube remixes.
- [Google acquires YouTube for $1.65 billion](http://www.nbcnews.com/id/15196982/ns/business-us_business/t/google-buys-youtube-billion/). YouTube founders Chad and Steve announce the Google acquisition in a [video recorded in a parking lot](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCVxQ_3Ejkg): "The king of search and the king of video have gotten together."
- Twitter launches. Founder Jack Dorsey sends the first tweet: ["just setting up my twttr"](https://twitter.com/jack/status/20)

https://twitter.com/jack/status/20

### 2007

- 36% of American online adults [consult Wikipedia](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2007/04/24/wikipedia-users/).
- [32% of Americans](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2007/07/12/campaign-internet-videos-viewed-more-on-tv-than-online/) have at least heard about [Hillary and Bill Clinton’s video parody](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BEPcJlz2wE) of the final episode of “The Sopranos” and 19% have actually seen it.
- 36% of Americans say they would [have a hard time giving up their Blackberry](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2008/03/25/mobile-internet-moves-into-the-mainstream/) or other wireless email device, up from 6% in 2002.
- *

![IMG_2298](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2014/03/thumbnail-300x258.jpg)

*Apple [releases its first iPhone](https://www.apple.com/pr/library/2007/01/09Apple-Reinvents-the-Phone-with-iPhone.html), priced at $499 for 4GB and $599 for 8G.
- Estonia becomes the world's first country [to use internet voting in a parliamentary election](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6407269.stm).

### 2008

- Three-quarters (74%) of internet users – or 55% of the entire U.S. adult population -- [say they went online during the presidential election](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2009/04/15/the-internets-role-in-campaign-2008/) to take part in or get news and information about the campaign.
- 19% of cellphone owners say they have [gone online with their phones](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2008/03/05/questions-and-data-5/).
- Google releases the [Chrome Web browser](http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/fresh-take-on-browser.html).
- [HTML5](http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-html5-20080122/) is introduced.
- Deal-of-the-day website [Groupon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupon) launches.
- Apple [launches its App Store](http://techcrunch.com/2008/07/10/app-store-launches-upgrade-itunes-now/) with 552 applications.
- [Microsoft offers to buy Yahoo! for $44.6 billion](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2008/feb08/02-01corpnewspr.aspx), but the two companies [cannot agree on a purchase price](http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB120986002095265343).
- World of Warcraft [hits 11.5 million subscribers](http://eu.blizzard.com/en-gb/company/press/pressreleases.html?id=10011030) worldwide. Guinness Book of World Records [names it the most popular MMORPG](http://books.google.com/books?id=aHYt0RNSDfgC&pg=PA269&dq=9780553592566&hl=en#v=onepage&q=most%20popular%20MMORPG&f=false).

### 2009

- 69% of Americans turn to the internet to [cope with and understand the recession](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2009/07/15/the-internet-and-the-recession/).
- Microsoft's [Bing](http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2009/may09/05-28newsearchpr.aspx) search engine launches.
- Twitter raises $98 million from investors, [valuing the company at a whopping $1 billion](http://gigaom.com/2009/09/26/why-investing-100m-in-twitter-isnt-crazy/).
- The Web is transfixed by the tale of a six-year-old boy [flying over Colorado](http://mashable.com/2009/10/15/colorado-balloon-boy/) in a weather balloon. The story later [proves to be a hoax](http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/18/colorado.balloon.investigation/index.html?iref=hpmostpop).
- Kanye West's [VMA outburst](http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1621389/kanye-west-crashes-vma-stage-during-taylor-swifts-award-speech.jhtml) sparks an [internet meme](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/kanye-interrupts-imma-let-you-finish).
- Viral videos like [David After Dentist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=txqiwrbYGrs), [Susan Boyle](http://mashable.com/2009/04/19/susan-boyle-videos/), [Baby Dancing to Beyonce](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU9MuM4lP18), and the [JK Wedding Entrance Dance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4-94JhLEiN0) launch ordinary people into newfound Web stardom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4-94JhLEiN0

### 2010

- 35% of adults [have cell phones with apps](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2010/09/14/the-rise-of-apps-culture/), but only two-thirds actually use them.
- Social photo-sharing sites [Pinterest](http://about.pinterest.com/press/) and [Instagram](http://instagram.com/press/) launch.
- Wikileaks collaborates with major media organizations to [release U.S. diplomatic cables](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/29/world/29cables.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0).
- Ex-Facebook employees launch user-based question and answer site [Quora](http://gigaom.com/2010/01/05/former-facebookers-try-to-foster-consensus-with-quora/).

### 2011

- 15% of social media-using teens say [they have been the target of online meanness](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2011/11/09/teens-kindness-and-cruelty-on-social-network-sites/).
- 68% of all Americans say the internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups to [communicate with members](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2011/01/18/the-social-side-of-the-internet/).
- LinkedIn reaches 100 million users and [debuts on NYSE](http://thenextweb.com/insider/2011/05/19/in-the-biggest-ipo-since-google-linkedin-now-trading-at-520-times-its-2010-net-income/).
- [Microsoft buys Skype](http://www.wired.com/business/2011/05/microsoft-buys-skype-2/) for $8.5 billion.
- Google+ [launches](http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/introducing-google-project-real-life.html).
- Young Egyptians [use the hashtags](http://voices.washingtonpost.com/blog-post/2011/01/egyptian_protests_in_egypt.html) #Egypt and #Jan25 on Twitter to spread the word about the Egyptian Revolution. The government responds by [shutting down the internet](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/8288163/How-Egypt-shut-down-the-internet.html).
- Rebecca Black's "[Friday](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVsfOSbJY0&feature=kp)" becomes a [YouTube sensation](http://mashable.com/2011/03/16/rebecca-black-youtube/).

### 2012

- [66% of internet users use Facebook and 12% use Instagram](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2012/09/13/additional-material-and-demographics/).
- Among the 13% of US adults who made a financial contribution to a presidential candidate, [50% donated online or via email](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2012/10/25/presidential-campaign-donations-in-the-digital-age/).
- Facebook reaches 1 billion monthly active users, making it the dominant social network worldwide. Some analysts start calling it "[Facebookistan](http://www.onthemedia.org/story/185106-life-facebookistan/transcript/)." The company [buys Instagram](http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/04/09/facebook-buys-instagram-for-1-billion/) for $1 billion and [debuts on NASDAQ](http://stream.wsj.com/story/facebook-ipo/SS-2-9640/) at $38 a share.
- South Korean music star PSY's "[Gangnam Style](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0&feature=kp)" video [surpasses](http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonykosner/2012/11/24/psys-gangam-style-tops-biebers-baby-to-become-most-viewed-youtube-video-ever/) Justin Bieber's "[Baby](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kffacxfA7G4&feature=kp)" as the most viewed video ever, with over 800 million views.
- Ecommerce sales [top $1 trillion worldwide](http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Ecommerce-Sales-Topped-1-Trillion-First-Time-2012/1009649).
- The Internet Society founds the [Internet Hall of Fame](http://www.internethalloffame.org/about) to "celebrate people who bring the internet to life."

### 2013

- A majority (56%) of Americans [now own a smartphone of some kind](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2013/06/05/smartphone-ownership-2013/).
- 51% of U.S. adults [bank online](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2013/08/07/51-of-u-s-adults-bank-online/).
-

![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2013/09/Q2-Snowden.jpg)

Former CIA employee and NSA contractor Edward Snowden [turns over thousands of classified documents](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/us/how-edward-j-snowden-orchestrated-a-blockbuster-story.html?hp) to media organizations, exposing a top-secret government data surveillance program.

- Apple says app store downloads [top 40 billion](http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2013/01/07App-Store-Tops-40-Billion-Downloads-with-Almost-Half-in-2012.html), with 20 billion in 2012 alone.
- Twitter files for its [long-awaited IPO](http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/09/12/twitter_ipo_social_network_files_for_initial_public_offering_of_stock.html). Shares [soar 73%](http://money.cnn.com/2013/11/07/technology/social/twitter-ipo-stock/) above their IPO price of $26 a share on the first day of trading.

https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/378261932148416512

### 2014

- 45% of internet users ages 18-29 in serious relationships [say the internet has had an impact on their relationship](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2014/02/11/couples-the-internet-and-social-media/).
- Facebook [buys messaging app Whatsapp](http://money.cnn.com/2014/02/19/technology/social/facebook-whatsapp/) for $19 billion.