6 Facts About The Internet That Will Make You Say Whaaaat?!

Can you imagine a world without the internet? We wouldn’t be able to browse for new clothes, check our emails or have a cheeky scroll through Facebook – it’s not worth thinking about!

Luckily, we live in a world so obsessed with technology and the internet, that there’s even a day dedicated to this world-changing invention. Internet Day is celebrated every year on the 29^th October, but how much do you know about the web? Let us take you through time and (cyber)space with these 6 interesting facts:

1. There is no single person who can take credit for the creation of the internet…

Even though there have been many people who contributed to the World Wide Web, not one person can officially step up to the plate as the sole creator of the online world. What we do know however, is that Science Professor Leonard Kleinrock imagined up the first idea for the internet, sending the first message over the APRANET (a precursor to internet) in 1969 at the University of California. From this idea, key players like Robert Khan and Tim Berners-Lee adapted the idea into what we know as the internet today.

2. The first ever emoticon was first used on the internet in 1982…

In 2018, you can tell a story with an emoji, but back in 1982 Computer Scientist Scott Fahlman created the first ever smiley face after telling a joke via the internet. The modern emoticon was born!

3. ‘Surfing The Internet’ is a phrase invented by a New York Librarian…

We’ve all heard of the phrase surfing the internet, but where did it come from? Well, the term was first used in 1992 by a woman named Jean Armour Polly after she created an article called ‘SURFING the Internet’. The expression eventually lost its impact over the years, but it still remains a part of internet history.

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4. As of this month (October 2018) there are more than 1.9 billion websites on the internet…

Yes, you read that correctly! Not to brag or take all the credit, but here at Platform81 we have created 674 different websites during the past 10 years, which works out as 0.000035473684210526314% of the total websites on the internet. You’re welcome.

5. Despacito by Luis Fonsi is the most played video on the internet with over 5.6 billion views…

A title formerly held by Gangnam Style, Despacito smashed it out of top spot in 2017 and became the most watched Youtube video of all time. However, it’s not all doom and gloom for Gangnam Style as it originally broke Youtube’s view counter when it was in top spot, forcing the video giant to upgrade it.

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6.  The internet can’t be broken…

Unless you’re Kim Kardashian, of course! With her 119 million Instagram followers and 59.4 million Twitter followers, every time Kim K presses that ‘post’ button, the internet goes mad. It’s a well known fact that the internet can’t be physically broken as it is too vast and interconnected. However, there have been faults over the last 20 years that have seen the early stages of the internet experience partial downtime. So Kim K may not technically break the internet, but she certainly puts in a good effort to do so.

So, there you have it, we owe a lot to the internet as a digital marketing agency… we wouldn’t be here today without it!

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