The History of the Web

Timeline
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Sidenotes

Fandom, Folksonomies, and Tagging Things Right

Published: August 18, 2020

The fan fiction community is tough. Resilient. Fandom — a catch-all term that includes fan fiction writers, readers, and participants […]

Sidenotes

I have some news

Published: August 5, 2020

Starting today, I will have an ongoing series at CSS-Tricks that we’re just calling Web History. It’s a chapter by […]

Sidenotes

July 2020 Weblog: It Can Be Our Web

Published: July 29, 2020

This month, finding your own space on the web, exploring the magic and quirks and possibilities of CSS, and (re)discovering community.

Features

Bringing the Laughter, Week after Week

Published: July 21, 2020

The comedy web series was one of the more interesting and influential adaptions of the web medium. It reversed the principles of traditional entertainment to create videos that were more approachable.

Features

The Browser Engine That Could

Published: July 7, 2020

From a browser engine that started as the lesser known option used in an obscure browser to one that would take hold over the entire browser market.

Features

What Happened to the Webmaster

Published: June 16, 2020

The webmaster was once a coveted and important role on the web. One day, it disappeared. This is what happened.

Sidenotes

Pandora Didn’t Pay Its Employees for Two Years, or How I do Research

Published: May 19, 2020

When I look at a story, sometimes I have to look past the history that has already been written to find the truth that was hiding behind it. This is one of those times.

Features

Surfing Through the Digital Airwaves: A History of Internet Radio

Published: May 5, 2020

Internet Radio has been attempted so many times in the history of the web that it’s hard to keep track. With each time came a new innovation, and in most cases, a new way to fail.

Sidenotes

April 2020 Weblog: Learning to Be on a New Web

Published: April 29, 2020

Our latest crisis has produced a different kind of web, and for many of us, a different attitude towards our online lives.

Features

Before the Wars, Browsers Were Everywhere

Published: April 21, 2020

Before browsers were truly cross-platform, there was a time when each operating system had their browser of choice, and it was tailored to the needs of those users.

Sidenotes

I Read the Web’s Greatest Soap Opera So You Don’t Have To

Published: March 30, 2020

The Spot was a webisodic soap opera that was as well-crafted as it was packed with drama. It boomed on the web for several years, and then faded away with virtually no trace. Until now.

Sidenotes

March 2020 Weblog: Trying to Think about Something Else

Published: March 27, 2020

March has been a weird month, but the web trudges onward.

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The History of the Web is a project by Jay Hoffmann.

Illustrations courtesy of Katerina Limpitsouni at unDraw.