The Beginnings

So how should we think about the Internet?

It is a new technology. It is a lot of fun when you are at work watching cat videos. It is necessary for some people's jobs.
The Internet has shaped the way we consume media and changed the way we interact with other people and society.

So where did this all start?

Perhaps we should start at the beginning.
Perhaps with the birth of technology that allowed for saving information for later use: Writing.

Writing evolved from use of pictographs in prehistory. Eventually these pictographs became a system of writing. Writing had huge advantages over memorizing information since memory can fade and change overtime and often changes as knowledge is passed down form individual to individual. Writing can easily pass information onto other people over vast distances and over long periods of time. Depending of the medium used to write on, information can last thousands of years. Much of what we know form ancient cultures, like the Egyptians, we know from writing that has survived. Imagine how much we have lost from culture who did not have written records.

Burke, J.J.  (2009).  Neal-Schuman library technology companion: a basic guide 

         for library staff (3rd ed.).  New York, NY: Neal-Schuman Publishers.