Know Your Net

J.C.R. Licklider envisions a world of networked computers. A group of pioneers turn his idea into a reality.

Douglas Engelbart founds the field of Human Computer Interaction and technology becomes mainstream through exponential growth in computing power and user friendly interfaces.

What makes a computer a computer? How does it work?

The Tech Model Railroad Club at MIT births the term hacker. What does it mean to be a hacker?

What have online communities looked like? A memoiresque journey through the rise of walled gardens, bulletin board systems and underground scenes.

At it's heart, the internet is a communication tool. What can we learn from the ways we've tried communicating on the internet?

The rise of Napster ushers in P2P networks and concerns of piracy. Arguments for the distribution of cultural artifacts are made by Lawrence Lessig with the introduction of Creative Commons.

Web 1, 2, 3... why do people refer to the World Wide Web with versions?

What did social networking look like before Facebook?

After extreme growth in the late 1990s, the tech industry crashed in March of 2000. Months later, the 9/11 terrorist attacks would alter our relationship with technology forever.