TWENTY-FIVE years ago today, the general public were first granted access to the World Wide Web.
A lot has changed over the past quarter of a century and the web has been at the forefront of it.
Here are 25 things the internet has given us, ranging from the useful to the truly bizarre…
Grumpy Cat
Named one of the most influential animals on the planet, Grumpy Cat became adored online after her picture was first posted in 2012.
Why? Well the famous feline simply looks grumpy all the time!
That’s enough to give her 9 million likes on her official Facebook page, plus she’s officially a friend of the Sunday Post, as she follows us on Twitter.
Rick Rolling
Why did a song from 1987 suddenly become the centre of one of the internet’s biggest pranks? No-one really knows.
Thought to originate from the 4chan web forum, tricksters send a link to someone, claiming it is something important or useful, but instead it directs to the video for Rick’s famous hit.
Astley himself said in 2008 that it was “bizarre and funny”.
Not for those that fall for it.
Click here to read more about the phenomenon.
Planking
People started to lie down on things they wouldn’t normally lie down on.
People took pictures of this happening.
That’s essentially it.
Lolcats
The internet really loves cats, as we’ve gathered from Grumpy Cat.
They’re often used in memes (defined as an image, video, piece of text, etc., typically humorous in nature, that is copied and spread rapidly by Internet users, often with slight variations) like the one above.
They’re cats, and they make you lol.
Livestreams… even of puddles
Livestreaming online is a great thing.
You can watch anything from TV shows to concerts as they happen- from wherever you can get an internet connection.
Bizarrely, one of the most popular recent livestreams was of a puddle in Newcastle.
Ice Bucket Challenge
The internet has been a source of many ‘challenges’ over the years.
From the Cinnamon Challenge (where people swallow a spoonful in under 60 seconds with no drink to wash it down) to the Running Man dancing challenge, people always want to prove they’re up to the task.
The challenge that really spread like wildfire was the Ice Bucket Challenge, which helped raise money for ALS / Motor Neurone Disease.
It was recently revealed that donations from the challenge have funded a breakthrough in identifying a new gene associated with the disease.
Those Kevin Bacon adverts
Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon started as a parlour game for movie buffs based on the idea of Six Degrees of Separation – that any two people on Earth are six or fewer acquaintance links apart.
Bacon allegedly once claimed that he had worked with almost everyone in Hollywood, so can you get from him to another actor in six moves?
The popularity of the game as it spread online was picked up on by phone network EE, who managed to get Bacon to help advertise them.
Autotuning… everything
From news reports to a man selling fish for one pound in a a London market.
Anything and everything can be turned into a song with a spot of autotuning…
Dance crazes
Move over Macarena, the internet has provided a few more inventive dances over the years.
Remember Gangnam Style and the Harlem Shake?
Chuck Norris facts
Just like Top Gear used to do with The Stig, the internet claimed all sorts of facts were true about Chuck Norris.
Such gems include:
“Chuck Norris doesn’t dial the wrong number. You answered the wrong phone.”
“When Chuck Norris swims in the ocean, the sharks are in a steel cage.”
and
“Chuck Norris has already been to Mars. That’s why there are no signs of life.”
Rebecca Black’s Friday
Released (possibly by accident) in 2011 on YouTube, a song regarded as one of the worst ever spread like wildfire.
The song and poor Rebecca herself were mercilessly and ruthlessly torn to shreds by a global audience.
Incidentally, Rebecca is still performing music and has since become a prominent YouTube star (more on them below..)
YouTube & Vine stars
The internet gave a platform for anyone to essentially make their own TV shows or films.
People who managed to gain hundreds of thousands of viewers on YouTube or Vine (where six second video clips became an artform) became celebrities in their own right.
Throwback Thursday
Merry Christmas! pic.twitter.com/I7PDRF5fjJ
— First Lady- Archived (@FLOTUS44) December 25, 2014
Apps like Timehop and Facebook’s On This Day feature let us take a trip down memory lane, showing us what we’ve posted on social media in the last few years.
Going one step further is #TBT (throwback Thursday) – the day people on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and everywhere else share their old photos.
Want to remind people about that brilliant holiday you went on 15 years ago? #TBT it.
Found an adorable picture of yourself as a baby? #TBT it.
Oh and there’s also the useful stuff…
The king of all search engines has swept all its competitors to one side and has expanded to email, maps, money and countless other ventures.
The word google has even become a verb, so frequent is its use.
Where would we be without email?
Probably waiting by our letter box.
Netflix
Many TV and film fans consider the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime and other streaming sites as their best friend and companion.
With thousands of movies and shows available to legally watch on any kind of device, it’s easy to see why.
IMDB
We’ve all been watching something and spotted a face that we know we recognise from somewhere.
That’s where the Internet Movie Database comes in handy.
With a quick search, you’ll find out that they were in one episode of that show you used to watch years ago but never really liked.
Shazam
Everyone’s heard a song that they immediately love.
But if no-one tells you who sings it, you may never hear it again.
Shazam is your saviour here – using sonic magic to listen and then tell you the name and artist of the song playing.
Shopping online
The internet is the biggest superstore there is and you can buy anything online these days.
It’s quick and easy, and often cheaper than going out to the shops.
Online banking
Just log in to your bank account and you can easily track what you’ve been spending all of your money on while shopping online.
Online banking also makes it easier to send money to friends and family securely, and you can even pay for things using your phone via the likes of Apple Pay.
Gaming
The internet has been great for gamers, whether you fancy killing time by playing a simple single-player game on a site like Miniclip, entering the realm of fantasy alongside hundreds of other players on World or Warcraft or even managing virtual football teams against your friends in Soccer Manager or Fantasy Football.
Wikipedia
For over 15 years, Wikipedia has been there as a place to find out about stuff.
Almost everything imaginable has been included on the open source encyclopedia that has been curated by web users worldwide.
Just remember, though, not everything you read on it is true…
WikiHow
The first port of call when you’re not sure what to do about something is to Google it, and it will probably take you to wikiHow.
Like Wikipedia, it’s an open source collection of information on anything from how to boil an egg to how to build a spaceship…
Maps
Finding directions has never been easier thanks to the Internet.
Unless, as discovered today, you’re going to Easdale Island.
Social Networking
Of course, how could we forget.
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and their predecessors such as Friends Reunited, Bebo and Myspace have played their part in forming relationships between people who may not ever have normally met.
Social networks are places to share interests, ideas, knowledge, banter, memories, thoughts or even just inane chat.
And so much more yet to come in the future…
Who knows what advancements will happen in the next 25 years?
READ MORE
What does internet’s inventor really think about his idea that changed the world?
25 years of the World Wide Web: All you’ve ever needed to know about the internet
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