Summary

  • The World Wide Web, originally created at CERN in 1989, celebrates its 36th birthday in 2025, having grown from a handful of websites in the early 1990s to over 1 billion websites today.
  • This expansion can be attributed to the accessibility of web hosting services, advancements in mobile technology, and the proliferation of affordable high-speed internet.
  • The archeological aspect of the Web Archive and the fact that some early websites from the 90s are still up and running offer a fascinating look into the past and gives us a glimpse of how the World Wide Web has evolved.
  • This evolution is highlighted by the fact that websites like arXiv (science and mathematics), IMDb (movies), Bloomberg (business and finance), and Alifweb (aliens and science fiction) are still around and still relevant almost 3 decades later.
  • This implies that the information these websites provide is timeless and still sought after by the website’s users.
  • This raises questions about the sustainability and longevity of modern websites, many of which may not be relevant or operational in another 10 or 20 years.

By Brady Klinger-Meyers

Original Article