The Internet started in the 1960s as a way for government researchers to share information. Another catalyst in the formation of the Internet was the heating up of the Cold War. The Soviet Union's launch of the Sputnik satellite spurred the U.S. Defense Department to consider ways information could still be disseminated even after a nuclear attack. This eventually led to the formation of the ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), the network that ultimately evolved into what we now know as the Internet. ARPANET was a great success but membership was limited to certain academic and research organizations who had contracts with the Defense Department. In response to this, other networks were created to provide information sharing. January 1, 1983 is considered the official birthday of the Internet. Prior to this, the various computer networks did not have a standard way to communicate with each other. A new communications protocol was established called Transfer Control Protocol/Internetwork Protocol (TCP/IP). This allowed different kinds of computers on different networks to "talk" to each other. ARPANET and the Defense Data Network officially changed to the TCP/IP standard on January 1, 1983, hence the birth of the Internet. All networks could now be connected by a universal language. The internet took a big step towards mainstream adoption in 1989 when Tim Berners-Lee from the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) invented the World Wide Web, also known as "www," or, "the web." The internet connects the world today. In today's world the internet is part of our daily lives. If the Internet suddenly flatlined, social media users would start calling each other on the phone, overloading working telecommunication systems… Unless cell phone towers and telephone lines were also shut down. Then you'd go back to writing letters and sending them via post. Forget about wireless file transfers.
