Internet time machine / 1997

1997, kept in the archive.

Backdrop

The Internet in 1997

Panorama of the Mars Pathfinder mission and Sojourner rover.

Year reference

Mars Pathfinder

Remote technology became a shared public spectacle.

Source: NASA/JPL via Wikimedia Commons
  • The web was still built from personal pages, web rings, email forwards, and search directories rather than feeds.
  • Instant messaging entered everyday life with AOL Instant Messenger, making online presence feel social and immediate.
Read the Internet Society’s internet history

Archive order

Archive picks

01

Hampster Dance video preview

Web post · Personal-homepage classic

Hampster Dance

A page full of bouncing hamsters and a sped-up earworm: that was enough.

geocities eraanimated gifearworm
Archive score95

02

Creator-hosted Bert Is Evil artwork by Dino Ignacio

Web post · Satirical parody site and image remix

Bert Is Evil

A cranky Sesame Street puppet kept turning up at history’s worst meetings—because one art student kept putting him there.

image remixparody siteearly web
Archive score93