Difference between Web 10 Years Ago and Web Today
The World Wide Web is a vast and ever-changing field in which developments come at a breakneck pace. The Web today is a lot different than the Web ten years ago, and it seems that every week brings with it some new-fangled Web technology that we simply can't do without. In this article, we take a look at the Web today, and how it compares to the Web of ten years ago.
Advertising And The Web
From the late 1990s to just before the 2000s, advertising on the Internet was an industry in its infancy. In fact, few people considered the potential of the Internet as an advertising medium. However, the turn of the century brought about a wider acceptance of the possibilities of the Web, and by the mid-2000s, advertising on the Internet was in full swing. From 2005 to the present, the combined total of online advertising revenues increased by as much as 30%, and it now draws revenues upwards of $12.5 billion.
The State Of Media Companies
Ten years ago, most people were of the opinion that startups had very little chance of competing against the more established media companies. However, companies such as Yahoo!, Amazon, eBay, MySpace and YouTube have since proven that startup companies may present some significant competition, and in fact succeed. It was also thought back then that the Internet infrastructure would eventually crash under the weight of Alexander the many different sites, but this has yet to happen.
Internet Usage
Towards the 2000s, the total number of Internet users was estimated to be about 27 million. Nowadays however, the number is closer to 3 billion and still rising, again proving that the estimates from ten years ago were way off.
What The Future Holds
Just as it was ten years ago, there are now fears that the Internet will experience a bubble back, with Internet advertising eventually slowing down. However, there are just as many people who doubt that this will happen. Nevertheless, there are a number of significant challenges that the Internet advertising industry will have to face, the most notable of which are the rising costs of online advertising, the control of Google over the market, the fall of the IPO market, the growing prominence of IPTV, excessive VC, and the proliferation of private equity.
A number of significant changes have occurred on the Internet from the middle of the 1990s to the mid-2000s as well. For starters, ad revenues increased from $270 million to over $12 billion, and the price of bandwidth decreased drastically from $1000/mbps to a meager $20/mbps. Even once expensive software and hardware has given way to open source software and even hardware is given free nowadays. Current predictions are that mobile advertising and IPTV will play an increasingly prominent role in the near future.
Similarities and Differences:
Web today
- Brought about a wider acceptance of the possibilities of the Web
- Price of bandwidth decreased drastically
Web 10 years ago
- Advertising on the Internet was an industry in its infancy
- Many thought that startups had very little chance of competing against the more established media companies
