Cybercultural chronicles internet history and its cultural impact, from the pre-web era to the dot-com boom, Web 2.0, and beyond. Written by pioneering tech blogger Richard MacManus, it explores how the internet shaped our world — and what its future holds.
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What the Internet Was Like in 2012
Internet culture pivoted to images and videos over 2012, with the growing popularity of image sharing apps like Instagram and Pinterest, video creators on YouTube, and pictures on Reddit.
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How Lana Del Rey Found Internet Fame on YouTube in 2011
With YouTube growing fast in 2011, struggling musician Lizzy Grant decided to re-launch her career with a new name and image, new social media accounts, and a self-made video.
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CD-ROMS in 1994: Bowie, Prince, Gabriel, and Cybermania '94
David Bowie, Prince and Peter Gabriel all had interactive CD-ROMs out in 1994, and had plans for further multimedia projects. But by the end of the year, the CD-ROM format was effectively over.
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Multimedia Gulch in 1994: The Age of Interactive CD-ROMs
Multimedia Gulch was a trendy neighbourhood in San Francisco in the 1990s, home to wannabe rock stars making CD-ROM adventure games. They lived fast in a time of slow modems.
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What the Internet Was Like in 2011
The internet in 2011 saw power plays in social networking, mobile apps, cloud computing, and streaming. Facebook was challenged by Google+, while new powers like Netflix and Spotify emerged.
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The End of Web 2.0 — One Bubble Deflates, Another Starts Up
After leaving ReadWriteWeb in October 2012, it becomes apparent that the Web 2.0 era is over. I reflect on what the Web 2.0 bubble meant and how the internet industry continues to evolve.
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2012: The Transition From ReadWriteWeb to ReadWrite
After its acquisition of ReadWriteWeb, SAY Media widens our coverage but does not give the site the resources it needs. Later, several key people leave SAY and/or RWW — including me.
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Buy the Book: Bubble Blog Now Available As Paperback, eBook
Announcing the release of my memoir as a paperback and eBook. Fourteen months after I began serialising my book online, here on Cybercultural, you can now purchase a paper copy.
To explore Cybercultural's archive of internet history articles, you can browse by internet era:
- Pre-web (1960s-80s)
- Dot-com (1990-2003)
- Web 2.0 (2004-2012)
- Enshittocene (2013-2021)
You can also read yearly reviews or search for a topic of interest.