18 Internet Evolution Facts: The 1997 Edition

The year 1997 was the moment the internet became an “always-on” cultural force. It was the year of high-speed aspirations, the birth of the “blog,” and the rise of the first social media structures. As the world mourned Princess Diana and watched Titanic break records, the web was busy building the platforms that would define the next decade.

Top 10 1997 Iconic Internet Milestones

1. Google.com is Registered: In September, Larry Page and Sergey Brin officially register the domain google.com. The project moves out of Stanford’s servers and begins its journey to becoming the gateway to the world’s information.
2. The Term “Weblog” is Coined: Jorn Barger coins the term “Weblog” to describe his site Robot Wisdom. The term is later shortened to “blog,” marking the birth of personal digital publishing.
3. The Launch of SixDegrees.com: Andrew Weinreich launches SixDegrees.com, often cited as the first true social media site. It allows users to create profiles and list friends, predating Friendster and MySpace by years.
4. AOL’s “Buddy List” Goes Mainstream: AOL launches AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) as a standalone service. The distinctive “door opening” and “door closing” sounds become the soundtrack of a generation’s social life.
5. Netflix is Founded: Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph found Netflix as a DVD-by-mail service. While not yet a streaming giant, its website-first rental model sets the stage for the eventual death of the video store.
6. The Birth of Wi-Fi (802.11): The first version of the 802.11 wireless networking standard is released. This invisible revolution will eventually untether the internet from the desktop and enable the mobile era.
7. The Launch of Babel Fish: AltaVista launches Babel Fish, the web’s first near-instant language translation service. For the first time, users can translate entire web pages, making the internet truly global.
8. The “Deep Blue” Rematch: IBM’s Deep Blue defeats world chess champion Garry Kasparov in a highly publicized match. The result is broadcast live on the web, drawing millions of viewers and showcasing the power of computational logic.
9. Jornada 820 and Mobile Web: HP releases early “palmtop” PCs with built-in modems. While slow, they allow early adopters to check emails and browse text-heavy sites without a desktop.
10. The Launch of Slashdot: “News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters.” Slashdot launches, becoming a massive hub for tech news and the “Slashdot effect”—where a mention on the site would crash smaller websites due to a surge in traffic.

Additional Tech & Cultural Observations

11. The Death of Netscape’s Dominance: Microsoft bundles Internet Explorer 4.0 deeply into Windows 98 previews, effectively winning the “Browser War” through OS integration.
12. The Mars Pathfinder Landing: NASA’s mission to Mars becomes a massive web event, with millions of people logging on to see the first high-res images of the Martian surface.
13. The Launch of GoDaddy: Bob Parsons founds Jomax Technologies, later renamed GoDaddy, simplifying the process of domain registration for small businesses.
14. Introduction of the “PNG” Format: The Portable Network Graphics (PNG) 1.0 specification is released as a patent-free alternative to the GIF, improving web image quality.
15. The Birth of Grand Theft Auto: The first GTA is released. Its top-down digital world and reactive NPCs provide early inspiration for complex virtual environments.
16. Internet via Cable Modems: Large-scale commercial deployment of cable internet begins in the US, offering speeds significantly faster than the standard 56k dial-up.
17. The Rise of Digital MP3s: The Winamp media player is released. Combined with the rise of the MP3 format, it begins to disrupt the music industry through digital file sharing.
18. 1997 The Year of Connection: This year proved that the internet was becoming a persistent space. Between AIM, SixDegrees, and the birth of blogs, the web shifted from a place you “visited” to a place where you “existed” socially.