2004 was the primary yr of the long run

In early 2004, the world was shaking it like a Polaroid image, flocking to theaters to see what was going to occur with all these hobbits, and questioning if that Tom Brady man was one thing particular. In the meantime, a couple of of us around the globe have been inventing the net as we all know it now: A world-shaking social community was brewing in a Harvard dorm room. A Google worker was dreaming up the way forward for e-mail of their spare time. The best cellphone of all time was nearly to drop. The web was nonetheless a distinct segment exercise, however that was about to vary — and quick.

In so some ways, the digital world through which we now all reside was created 20 years in the past. Google went public and started to ascend to rule the net. Fb, Gmail, Firefox, Flickr, and Digg all launched — the yr Internet 2.0 grew to become the net. “Weblog” and “the lengthy tail” have been on nobody’s radar earlier than 2004, and since then, they’ve been all over the place. America went by means of a contentious election, a bunch of sequels dominated the field workplace, and Apple launched a brand new product that regarded very cool however was finally eclipsed by a greater product a yr later. Okay, some issues by no means change.

Yearly is a giant yr in tech, after all, however 2004 was an particularly large one. And The Verge didn’t exist but! So, this week, we’ll have tales on the very best and most essential devices and platforms that launched that yr and items concerning the cultural occasions that also have an effect on the way in which we reside now. Mainly, we’re going to weblog prefer it’s 2004.

Need to speak about our tales, your recollections, and all of your raddest images from the early aughts? Come cling right here.