Websites that changed the Internet

Ajit Basrur

Staff member
Admin
#1
There are millions of websites out there. Many of them are unique, either in small ways or in large ones. But the individual impact of any particular site on the overall Internet is generally negligible, if there’s any impact at all.

Not so with the fifteen sites here. These sites changed the Internet, mostly for good, in substantial ways. Included here is everything from Geocities (which could probably be blamed entirely, either directly or indirectly, for every ugly web design “trend” that’s ever been) to Wikipedia (which has made information almost universally accessible) to Google (which has changed or influenced virtually everything online).


1. Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Changed the way we find information. Before Wikipedia, most online encyclopedias were either sorely lacking in information, or required you to have a paid subscription to access their content. Wikipedia changed all that by not only allowing anyone to view the content for free, but also by allowing individual users to review and update content, making it more complete and accurate overall. Wikipedia also brought crowdsourcing and user-generated content to the mainstream online, making both much more viable and valuable.


2. Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/

Changed the way we shop. Prior to Amazon.com, online shopping wasn’t much different than shopping out of a mail-order catalog, except it wasn’t nearly as popular. While Amazon started out selling just books and related items, it has expanded to sell virtually anything you can think of, either directly or through partner sites large and small. Amazon also made free shipping a standard on orders over a certain dollar value, which has impacted the shipping rates and policies of many other online retailers.


3. Hotmail www.hotmail.com

Changed the way we use email. Before Hotmail came along, email was basically tethered to a single computer. When you checked your email, it was pulled and deleted from the remote server, meaning the only place you could view it was at your computer. Need an email at home that you received at work? Too bad. There was no way to access it unless you went back to the office. Hotmail changed all that by providing webmail that could be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection. Now, web-based email is widely used and provided by a huge variety of providers. Even though Hotmail is no longer the primary provider of webmail (and is now owned by Microsoft), they were still pioneers in the technology.


4. Facebook www.facebook.com

Changed the way friends connected. While Facebook wasn’t the first social network, it has definitely become the most popular and has really changed the way friends interact with one another. Sure, people use FB to talk online, but they’re also increasingly using it as a way to plan get-togethers offline. They’re using it to follow and interact with their favorite bands, actors, and other personalities. People use it to keep in touch with business contacts, friends, family, and acquaintances. Facebook has made social networking mainstream, across a variety of demographics and virtually worldwide.


5. Project Gutenberg www.gutenberg.org

Changed the way we read. Project Gutenberg has a much longer history than most people realize. They created the first ebooks, and gave them away for free. You can now read virtually every major book in the public domain, sometimes in multiple languages on their site. Without the pioneering steps the founders of Project Gutenberg took, ebooks would not be where they are today.


6. Twitter www.twitter.com

Changed the way we communicate. Twitter has made one of the biggest impacts on the Internet in recent memory. The idea that 140-character messages, broadcast publicly (for the most part), would change the way people communicate with one another would have been hard to believe ten years ago. But Twitter has become not just a powerhouse in the way individual communicate with one another, but also in the way businesses communicate with their customers. Complaining about poor customer service on Twitter can often result in almost instant messages from the company in question, and often results in a satisfactory resolution. Twitter has also made celebrities more accessible, with hundreds of celebs now using the service to interact with their fans.


7. Pandora www.pandora.com

Changed the way we find new music. Before Pandora, if you wanted to listen to music online, you usually turned to a streaming radio station with pre-programmed content. Sure, you might get lucky and find a station that had mostly music you liked, but maybe it wasn’t diverse enough, or it still kept playing that one song you HATED. Pandora changed all that. Now, you can program your own radio station by just entering the name or a song or artist and then giving the thumbs up or down to music played. With a minimal amount of user input, Pandora has gotten surprisingly good at creating playlists that reflect one’s musical taste. The bonus is that songs or artists you might not have heard of are often thrown into the mix, based on what you already like.

8. Apple www.apple.com

Made minimalist web design cool. Apple had one of the first corporate websites designed with a minimalist aesthetic. As far back as the late 90s, Apple was starting to show a more minimalist take on web design than many other corporate sites, and by early 2000, they’d adopted the white and gray color scheme and top navigation they still employ today.


9. YouTube www.youtube.com

Changed entertainment. Before YouTube, there weren’t many options if you wanted to watch a video online. You could sometimes find a video here or there, but with bandwidth costs, they were few and far between. Website owners just didn’t want to pay the extra costs associated with video content. Then YouTube came along and made it free to post any video you wanted (as long as it wasn’t copyrighted or over ten minutes long). Web users now had a centralized place to go to watch video online. And because of YouTube’s pioneering effort, online video is now enjoyed by millions every day.


10. Craigslist www.craigslist.org

Changed classifieds. Online classified sites used to be nearly unusable. Between the huge number of spam postings and the fact there were few if any local listings in most areas, there wasn’t much point in using them. But then Craigslist caught on and suddenly there was an online classifieds site that rivaled most local newspaper classifieds. Now you can use Craigslist to find almost anything, no matter where you live.


11. The Drudge Report

Changed the stature of online news. When the Monica Lewinsky/President Clinton story broke in 1998, it wasn’t a mainstream news source that first reported it. Instead, The Drudge Report held those honors, forever changing the standing of online news sources. Now, online news sources break stories on a regular basis, and are considered by most to be just as reliable as television or print news sources.


12. GeoCities http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeoCities


Made the web more accessible. In the early days of the Internet, the only people online (for the most part) were scientists, academics, and those involved in technology. It wasn’t a very exciting place. Then came GeoCities, and suddenly anyone could set up their own webpage for free. Sure, GeoCities spawned a legion of horrifically ugly websites, but it also got a lot of regular people involved in the Internet for the first time and was likely the first design experience of many early web designers.

13. Digg www.digg.com

Changed the way we find and share news. Digg was originally set up as an experiment, but it has completely changed the way many people find news online. The idea of users determining which news was important, relevant, and interesting rather than editors or executives at big news organizations was revolutionary. Now, user-generated news sites are all over the place, both for mainstream news and for individual industries and niches.


14. LiveJournal www.livejournal.com

Hooked millions on blogging. Blogging wasn’t invented by LiveJournal, but they were the first site to offer free blogs to their members. Millions now use LiveJournal, and tens of millions more blog elsewhere, either through other blog hosts or on their own websites. If it weren’t for LiveJournal and similar free blogs hosts that came later, blogging might not have caught on as the global phenomenon it has become.


15. Google www.google.com

Changed everything. This one might seem a bit dramatic, but it really is true. Google has invaded virtually every aspect of the Internet. No matter what you do online, you probably interact with one Google service or another multiple times every day. And most people use at least one Google product or service one a regular basis personally. Whether it’s a Blogger blog, a Picasa photo album, a Google search, or even a YouTube video (or any of the dozens of other services Google owns), Google-controlled sites are everywhere.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Elsmar Forum Sponsor

Marc

Hunkered Down for the Duration with a Mask on...
Staff member
Admin
#3
<snip> 11. The Drudge Report

Changed the stature of online news. When the Monica Lewinsky/President Clinton story broke in 1998, it wasn’t a mainstream news source that first reported it. Instead, The Drudge Report held those honors, forever changing the standing of online news sources. Now, online news sources break stories on a regular basis, and are considered by most to be just as reliable as television or print news sources. <snip>
Besides being akin to a right wing supermarket tabloid... Drudge Report accused of serving malware, again so I will not allow a live link to it. As to Drudge having "changed the internet", I disagree, especially "...considered by most to be just as reliable as television or print news sources...". It contains nothing except salacious rumors about liberal politicians and celebrities.

It should also be noted that "...When the Monica Lewinsky/President Clinton story broke in 1998, it wasn’t a mainstream news source that first reported it...." is not exactly correct. Drudge had nothing to do with that 'scoop'. Drudge obtained it from Newsweek magazine, which had decided at the last minute to can the story which was written by Michael Isikoff.
 

Ron Rompen

Trusted Information Resource
#4
Much as I would like to recommend The Cove as one of the top 15 sites, I have to concur that it hasn't substantially changed the 'Net or how we use it. But it IS a great site, and I don't know how I would live without it.

One site that is missing that I thought would be included is E-Bay; I don't think the entry for Amazon.com captures the changes that E-Bay has made.

However, all in all, an excellent article.
 
P

Phiobi

#5
There are millions of websites out there. Many of them are unique, either in small ways or in large ones. But the individual impact of any particular site on the overall Internet is generally negligible, if there’s any impact at all.

Not so with the fifteen sites here. These sites changed the Internet, mostly for good, in substantial ways. Included here is everything from Geocities (which could probably be blamed entirely, either directly or indirectly, for every ugly web design “trend” that’s ever been) to Wikipedia (which has made information almost universally accessible) to Google (which has changed or influenced virtually everything online).





7. Pandora www.pandora.com

Changed the way we find new music. Before Pandora, if you wanted to listen to music online, you usually turned to a streaming radio station with pre-programmed content. Sure, you might get lucky and find a station that had mostly music you liked, but maybe it wasn’t diverse enough, or it still kept playing that one song you HATED. Pandora changed all that. Now, you can program your own radio station by just entering the name or a song or artist and then giving the thumbs up or down to music played. With a minimal amount of user input, Pandora has gotten surprisingly good at creating playlists that reflect one’s musical taste. The bonus is that songs or artists you might not have heard of are often thrown into the mix, based on what you already like.
Doesn't work in the UK!
 
#7
Besides being akin to a right wing supermarket tabloid...
I would tend to agree with this, but in relation to the subject I would say that alternative news/commentary (both conservative/liberal) have changed the internet. I think sities like Daily Kos, Powerline, Huffington and Gateway Pundit all have changed the way we look at and where we go for news. This has not only changed the internet, but also changed major news media.
 

Marc

Hunkered Down for the Duration with a Mask on...
Staff member
Admin
#8
Elsmar hasn't changed the internet at all. It's just a nice, small site for quality and business systems people to get together. That said, depending upon which you want to believe:

Quantcast (which, like Google's Analytics, directly monitors Elsmar.com) ranks it in the top 20,000 web sites by number of visitors.
Alexa (which gets it's data from people who have their Alexa 'ToolBar' installed) ranks it in the top 100,000.

Note that those are US rankings. I think I put the rankings in some other countries in the monthly Elsmar.com stats report.

Considering the millions of web sites out there, neither ranking is too shabby.
 

Marc

Hunkered Down for the Duration with a Mask on...
Staff member
Admin
#9
I would tend to agree with this, but in relation to the subject I would say that alternative news/commentary (both conservative/liberal) have changed the internet. I think sities like Daily Kos, Powerline, Huffington and Gateway Pundit all have changed the way we look at and where we go for news. This has not only changed the internet, but also changed major news media.
I agree with you 100%. News has changed forever.
 
D

DsqrdDGD909

#10
Elsmar hasn't changed the internet at all. It's just a nice, small site for quality and business systems people to get together. That said, depending upon which you want to believe:

Quantcast (which, like Google's Analytics, directly monitors Elsmar.com) ranks it in the top 20,000 web sites by number of visitors.
Alexa (which gets it's data from people who have their Alexa 'ToolBar' installed) ranks it in the top 100,000.

Note that those are US rankings. I think I put the rankings in some other countries in the monthly Elsmar.com stats report.

Considering the millions of web sites out there, neither ranking is too shabby.
Marc, it's a great web site and you should be proud. I have a question. How does quantcast know/tabulate demographics?
 
Thread starter Similar threads Forum Replies Date
M Different websites for different markets - FDA, Health Canada or other requirements Medical Information Technology, Medical Software and Health Informatics 4
W What Are Some Online Car Auction Websites? Coffee Break and Water Cooler Discussions 4
J Related Websites for Rubber Information, Rubber Products, Rubber Industries Book, Video, Blog and Web Site Reviews and Recommendations 3
K Non-Normal Data Analysis Literature, Websites, Books for Learning Quality Tools, Improvement and Analysis 2
somashekar Link to important websites within the Cove Book, Video, Blog and Web Site Reviews and Recommendations 1
Ajit Basrur Websites - Medicines Regulatory Authorities (global) Pharmaceuticals (21 CFR Part 210, 21 CFR Part 211 and related Regulations) 0
Marc Copyright - Including Copyrighted Material from other Websites or Sources in Posts Elsmar Cove Forum ToS and Forum Policies 12
Marc Feds Raid Illegal Websites but Some Just Pop Back Up After Work and Weekend Discussion Topics 3
Moncia Job Search Websites in Europe Career and Occupation Discussions 9
T History for company websites with product and application information 21 CFR Part 820 - US FDA Quality System Regulations (QSR) 4
M Websites for the Promotion of Medical Devices Book, Video, Blog and Web Site Reviews and Recommendations 3
Sidney Vianna Do CB websites provide any valuable information? Registrars and Notified Bodies 16
Sidney Vianna Should Registrars "police" registrants websites? Registrars and Notified Bodies 18
Ajit Basrur Can you recommend websites having GMP posters? Training - Internal, External, Online and Distance Learning 6
Marc Charter Flight Websites or Services Travel - Hotels, Motels, Planes and Trains 19
gard2372 Any websites or matrices to cross reference EN or DIN standards to SAE/ASME etc...? Other ISO and International Standards and European Regulations 3
Q New Regulations - FREE websites that have CHANGES in environmental laws? Miscellaneous Environmental Standards and EMS Related Discussions 6
D Introductory Statistics - Websites that I hope you'll find useful Statistical Analysis Tools, Techniques and SPC 2
R Y2K books or websites After Work and Weekend Discussion Topics 11
Sidney Vianna Interesting Discussion Should ISO 9004 be changed from a guidance standard to a requirements standard? ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 5
G Special 510K possible? Only the packaging has changed Other US Medical Device Regulations 0
lanley liao What shoud i do if our company top management has been changed. Oil and Gas Industry Standards and Regulations 8
L Does a backdate form format can be changed if wrong revision is used? Document Control Systems, Procedures, Forms and Templates 8
L GRR for a tolerance that has changed Gage R&R (GR&R) and MSA (Measurement Systems Analysis) 6
R AS9100 DELTA FAI - Sub-supplier for plating changed AS9100, IAQG, NADCAP and Aerospace related Standards and Requirements 2
S FAIR - If we have not produced a part in over 2 years, but nothing has changed AS9100, IAQG, NADCAP and Aerospace related Standards and Requirements 5
A How to deal with changed shared components in 510k 21 CFR Part 820 - US FDA Quality System Regulations (QSR) 2
Sidney Vianna Interesting Discussion ISO 9001:2024 - What should be changed in the next Edition of ISO 9001? ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 113
Q Change revision number in document when only codification was changed Document Control Systems, Procedures, Forms and Templates 8
B MHRA Unannounced Audits Frequency Changed? EU Medical Device Regulations 2
G Managing Ongoing Compliance to Standards when they are Changed Misc. Quality Assurance and Business Systems Related Topics 3
N AIAG 4th ed. FMEA Manual "Fit" Changed to "Appearance" - Fit severity? FMEA and Control Plans 2
T IEC 62366:2015 Annex C - changed parts from 5.1-5.8 --> but what about 5.9? IEC 62366 - Medical Device Usability Engineering 3
A Product status has changed from "tested" to "listed" in the EU Pharmacopoeia EU Medical Device Regulations 1
E Pallets need to be changed when raw materials are transferring from WH to MFG area? Pharmaceuticals (21 CFR Part 210, 21 CFR Part 211 and related Regulations) 6
M FMEA Corrective Action target date changed ISO 14971 - Medical Device Risk Management 1
L What changed in Amendment 1:2011 in the ISO 2859-1:1999? Inspection, Prints (Drawings), Testing, Sampling and Related Topics 2
B Safety & EMC certificate updated when MCU (MIcro-Controller) is changed? 21 CFR Part 820 - US FDA Quality System Regulations (QSR) 2
B Did UL 60601-1 change when the IEC 60601-1 standard changed to the 3rd edition? IEC 60601 - Medical Electrical Equipment Safety Standards Series 2
J PPAP for New Family Revisions when the Part has not changed APQP and PPAP 4
P Losing Accreditation - JAS-ANZ has changed the conditions of non-conformances ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 2
K EN 13640:2002 number changed to EN ISO 23640:2011 Other Medical Device Related Standards 1
S SFDA (China's state Food and Drug Administration) changed to CFDA China Medical Device Regulations 6
B PAS99:2012 - What has changed since the 2006 version? Other ISO and International Standards and European Regulations 6
J Acknowledging Changed Documents and Procedures Document Control Systems, Procedures, Forms and Templates 7
J Training/Notice when a New Document is Released or a Document is Changed Training - Internal, External, Online and Distance Learning 13
Marc Report: Facebook e-mail switch changed address books After Work and Weekend Discussion Topics 2
Z KPI Formula Issue - "Change Requests Managed" = Changed/Total ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 7
B ISO 11607-1:2009 vs. 2006 - What Changed? Other Medical Device Related Standards 2
G Packaging Re-Validation - Sealer machine broke down or was changed to a new one Other ISO and International Standards and European Regulations 11

Similar threads

Top Bottom