The History of the Web

Timeline
Archives
Read the Latest Post
Sidenotes

This is what you’re nostalgic for

Published: August 2, 2022

There’s a word for what you’re feeling. It’s anemoia. And it’s completely made up.

Sidenotes

It’s 1997 and you want to build a website

Published: July 5, 2022

You have a few options. How much time you got?

Sidenotes

Web Apps, Web Sites, Are they all the Same?

Published: May 17, 2022

Is a website the same as a web application? That question is older than you think

Sidenotes

Was Queen Elizabeth II a keen surfer of the early web?

Published: April 19, 2022

I recently went on a bit of a journey to figure out: did Queen Elizabeth surf the early web?

Sidenotes

The Most Influential Website of All Time

Published: March 8, 2022

There’s one site that is connected to Facebook, YouTube, Yahoo!, Twitter, and many others. And you probably never think about it.

Sidenotes

The Perilous Price of Blogging

Published: September 24, 2021

A single website changed his life, and set him on a path to activism, and ultimately, exile.

Sidenotes

An Hour About… Psuedo.com

Published: July 6, 2021

Pseudo.com is a forgotten relic of the dot-com era. Was it ahead of its time? A moonshot that went too far? Or simply a piece of elaborate performance art?

Sidenotes

The Internet Book Baron

Published: April 6, 2021

This week I have something a bit different, written by longtime newsletter author Ernie Smith, best known for his history […]

Sidenotes

The Most Ill-Timed Website in History

Published: March 2, 2021

There are a near infinite number of sites that have launched that you’ve never heard about. This is likely one of them. But if not for poor timing, it may have been primed for success.

Sidenotes

The man who drove from coast to coast

Published: January 19, 2021

When the web was still knew, one man decided to get on his motorcycle and do something about it.

Sidenotes

Excerpt from Chapter 5: Webzines Find Their Voice

Published: December 15, 2020

What follows is an excerpt from the latest chapter an ongoing series I’ve been writing for the last few months […]

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 […]

1 2 3 … 5 Next »

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