It is my understanding that the concept of the Internet/WWW dates back to the late 50's. In the late 60's, a [by todays standards] rudimentary version of it was up and running, mainly between the US Government and various branches of the military. For the next two decades or so, the system that would become the Internet was largely low profile in the background, a domain for computer geeks and nerds. But it was there.

If memory serves me correctly, a text-only version of the WWW came online in 1989 or so. It was used by colleges and Universities.

Throughout the early 1990's (1990-1994) I remember reading quite a few blurbs, snippets, and articles about the upcoming "Information Superhighway". At the time, I thought little of it. At the time, I didn't fully understand the concept of what the Internet was going to be.

I guess around 1993 or so, startup companies such as AOL and Prodigy sprang up, allowing people to use their dialup modems to access the various Web pages and chat rooms. But even as recently as 1994, the Internet was still largely a bastion for the aformentioned computer geeks and nerds.

In 1995, everything changed. Graphics became possible. Almost overnight, mainstream commerce caught on to the Internets usage potential, which was far reaching beyond simple chat rooms and text archives. By spring 1996, we were being flooded by 'news' from almost every business in the world, touting their new World Wide Web sites. From there, everything took off.

By the late 1990's, the "geeks and nerds" at last had their glory in the spotlight. It can be argued that the entire US economy was propped up directly, or indirectly by anything related to the Internet. "Dotcoms" sprang up like weeds in the springtime. Not a day would go by without some Internet company offering some kind of IPO. Penny stock would sometimes close at 70, 80, or a hundred dollars per share on opening day. The Dotcom boom was underway.

By 1999, it seemed that the traditional "brick and mortar" store was soon destined to go the way of the 8-track. Thousands of dotcom companies sprung up making it possible to order everything from candy and flowers to pizzas and DVD players. Look at what happened to companies such as Ebay and Amazon. Ebay alone revolutionized the way we can buy things. Looking for rare and obscure and discontinued items that might have taken days, weeks, months, or forever driving around from store to store in a car can be found with a few simple keystrokes. Within no time at all, we were seeing people as young as 21 years old becoming CEO's and millionaires of "something" dot com. Every TV and print ad was some kind of online stock commercial. The Dow Jones Industrial Average skyrocketed to well over 15,000.

Unfortunately the Dotcom industry's one fatal flaw finally caught up to it: it was being ran by people who understood computers and software, and could, with a cup of Starbucks in one hand, and a mouse in the other, build a Web site with graphics and interactive features that could make your head spin.

But they were completely and utterly lacking in any real world business sense.

And by summer of 2000, the bubble burst. 90% of the "dotcom" businesses that had started up since 1996 folded. Countless people lost millions (granted, it was 'on paper' money, but not before many of them had spent real money against it), and the 2001 recession kicked in.

Ever since the late 1990's novelty of the Internet wore off and many lost their asses pretty hard on the crash, the Internet has become a mainstream feature of commerce and society. Most people learned their lesson. Internet businesses are meant to be an addition, and not a replacement to, traditional businesses.

Today it's possible to do almost anything on the Internet. You can buy cameras, books, CD's, cars, real estate, antique salt and pepper shakers, you name it. If it exists, the Internet can help you find it.

You can find a wife or husband. Or at least a one-night-stand through any of the hundreds of online dating services available.

You can control all of your finances and never have to write a single check or buy a single stamp.

You can make friends with people halfway around the world. You can share your pictures with everyone.

You can debate various topics, share your poetry, swap music, even view movies.

It's all there.

Unfortunately, the Internet is not without its Dark Side. For starters, you can have everything you own lost through identity theft. If you hook up with the wrong person from a dating site, you could end up stuffed in the back of a car trunk.

I also believe that the Internet is at least to some degree to blame for the lack of manners and civility in society today. Not to mention our deep political polarization.

You see, prior to the Internet, we had to wait for newspapers, radio, and TV reporting. And that was only what they chose to show us. Except for such things as "letters to the editor", which was only a minute fraction of writers, no one really had any way to chime in their opinions.

All of that changed with the advent of chat boards and forums. Now suddenly everyone can post their opinions. But with the safety net of anonymity that online use allows, people were able to "shoot back" and say things that they wouldn't dare say to anyones face.

It goes without saying that this led to the ever increasing cyber-shout fests and contests to see who can be the most obnoxious. It didn't take long for the mainstream media to pick up on this and determine that the best way to attract a crowd was not to host a debate, but rather, see who can yell the loudest and hurl the most insults in the shortest period of time.

So this is what we get. Add to that, instant gratification. Think of how many people you can reach with one e-mail with instant delivery. No longer would someone have to wait days for whatever you had to tell them.

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So here we are roughly a decade into the "digital" age. Many people say that they could not function without the Internet.

Is that really true?

Or has the Internet become some sort of 21st century opium like additcion? If you stop and take an outside glance, life would not stop if the Internet were to go away. With the possible exceptions of a few people who make their living as online stock traders or Ebay sellers, no one would die because of it. All it does is maybe make our lives a little more convenient. 1995 was not the stone age. Life functioned pretty darn well up to that point as I remember. The Internet might make it possible for you to throw away your checkbook. But it does nothing for your eyes, ears, heart, or lungs.

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Regardless of how you feel about it, there is no question that this technology has come a very long way in a relatively short time. It's fascinating to speculate on where it's going to be in another 10 years.

Do you think that the Internet will evolve to include some kinds of functionality that we cannot presently comprehend? Or do you think that the evolution of the World Wide Web has more or less reached a peak/plateau, and any further change in any direction would not be feasible?

In other words, will the Internet, 2015 be more or less the same as it is here in 2005?

Thoughts?

Oh and for laughs. How many of you remember your very first foray into the cyber world?

Me?

The Western Pacific Airlines Web site, which at the time was www.westpac.com. August 1996.