First off it helps to understand what the internet is. The simplest way to put it is this: the internet is a series of inter connected computer networks. A networks of networks if you will. The basis of what we now know as the internet was created by a collaboration between academics & the military building a packet switching network called ARPANET, named after the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the Department of Defense which funded it in the late 1960’s.
Over time the ARPANET expanded, and more and more networks were joined to other networks this being helped by the Internet Protocol Suit (TCP/IP) being standardised in the early 1980’s. Because this was primarily a network supported by the military access was fairly restrictive and various science organisations tried to change that which lead to the creation of the National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET) the mid 1980’s which also paved the way for the commercialisation of the internet, with commercial internet service providers (ISPs) forming to sell access to the internet to other businesses and the general public. With the decommissioning of ARPANET & NSFNET in the 1990’s the internet became fully commercialised which combined with the development of the World Wide Web (WWW) by people such as Tim Berners-Lee at around the same time mean that the internet was becoming more accessible for everyone and was continually expanding, very rapidly.
At this point the internet is starting to look recognisable to modern day users thanks to the introduction of web browsers like Mosaic. The end of the 1990’s and start of the 2000’s saw the rise and fall of many “dot-com” businesses, and the increasing ubiquitousness of the web. As usage of the internet through the world wide web became easier for the general public it became a place for the free sharing of thoughts and ideas as well as other things. This new model of information exchange became known as Web 2.0 which has essentially led to the model of the web & ‘net that we know today. Some would say we are indeed now moving past that phase and entering into what is being coined the Semantic Web in which the machines which handle the internet can also analyse it across any boundary or border, physical ideas of countries & state imposed on the internet by governments.
Bits & Bytes 