When would you say we had The internet boom

[willywonka666]

What I mean is when did it hit mainstream where EVERYONE had pretty much caught on and had a computer?

We bought ours over the Christmas/New Year's holiday in 95. It was obviously the major thing to have and a ton of people were already online, but a ton weren't.

I would say maybe we were in the first 50% of families to have one maybe. I could be off, but what would you say-and when did you first go online?

[MC Blowfish]

Early 2000s, but I'm just guessing.

[Burst]

I'd say it was exponential growth between 1996-1999. 1996 is when I first recall going online and when you started seeing most 'mainstream' companies put out websites (albeit with AOL keywords). 1999 is I want to say when you had the big dot com boom with Pets.com and all the other start-ups that busted soon after.

[A Platypus Rave]

Jan 10, 2016 15:22:55 GMT -5 Burst said:

I'd say it was exponential growth between 1996-1999. 1996 is when I first recall going online and when you started seeing most 'mainstream' companies put out websites (albeit with AOL keywords). 1999 is I want to say when you had the big dot com boom with Pets.com and all the other start-ups that busted soon after.

1997 is when the Dotcom Boom started.

[ERON]

Jan 10, 2016 15:22:55 GMT -5 Burst said:

I'd say it was exponential growth between 1996-1999. 1996 is when I first recall going online and when you started seeing most 'mainstream' companies put out websites (albeit with AOL keywords). 1999 is I want to say when you had the big dot com boom with Pets.com and all the other start-ups that busted soon after.

I would agree that '99 was when the big boom occurred, leading up to the infamous Super Bowl in 2000 with all the dot com ads.

[Bo Rida]

I'd go much later than you guys, when portable devices had proper internet and social media bollocks was starting to take off.

So about 2007 for the iphone or even 2011 for the ipad.

There are a lot of people happy to use the internet on their phones and ipads that would never touch a PC.

[The Summer of Muskrat XVII]

Probably different for me living the the middle of bumf*** nowhere Manitoba, but I'd probably peg it at around 2003 when rural towns here started getting DSL

[Zaq "That Guy" Buzzkill]

I remember around 97-99 when everyone and their mother was advertising website all over TV. I'm pretty sure there was a website advertisement during every show I watched back then.

[Sponsored by Groose Wipes]

I say around 2004-2005ish. That's when social media sites were starting to hit big along with Youtube being the place to go to watch videos. The iPhone really brought in media convergence by making everything on one portable device.

[wildojinx]

I first got it in early 97, but i'd say 1996 was when it started. 1998 was when it got to its main level of prominence though, thats when i noticed schools and offices adding internet servers to their computers.

[Ultimo Gallos]

Seems to depend on the area. My high school had internet access on every computer by 95. I got it at home in 97. And by 99 most people I knew had access to the net.

It wasn't until Iphone and other smartphones hit that I started seeing what old timer usenet users would call "September". Back in the 90s every September when college started up usenet would be flooded with new people that had no clue the rules and protocalls and would start issues. I am seeing this all the time now that anyone with a $50 phone has access.

[Ryback on a Pole!]

I first got a computer of my own when I was around 13 in 2001-2002. They were a bit of a luxury still at that time as a recall. I'd say when I was about 17 seemed to be the time when pretty much everybody was getting them in their own houses and their own laptops so I'd say, 2004-2005. Prior to that most people at my school seemed to only really access the internet at school or libraries.

[OGBoardPoster2005]

Jan 10, 2016 16:46:12 GMT -5 Sponsored by Groose Wipes said:

I say around 2004-2005ish. That's when social media sites were starting to hit big along with Youtube being the place to go to watch videos. The iPhone really brought in media convergence by making everything on one portable device.

This, I was online prior to then, but using dial up. When we got broadband in 2004, it changed everything on my end. I still maintain I was the first person in my area to use YouTube. Its amazing to think back to how long ago it all was.