Internet History Podcast

Summary:Danny Sullivan is generally acknowledged as THE expert on the search industry (www.searchengineland.com). Danny first got his start coving search all the way back in 1996, and for almost twenty years, he has covered search technology as it has evolved from the likes of Excite and Yahoo into the dominance of Google and the emergence of social and mobile as the new frontier. Danny gives us a bit of his own background before we wade into the 90s search scene. We spend a lot of time discussing how and why Google grew to dominance and toward the end, Danny tells us where search technology might be going in the future. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As you know, often on this podcast, I run across issues or tidbits from the past that don’t quite fit our overall narrative. But sometimes those tidbits are just too interesting for me to ignore. One of those things I keep running across is Al Gore and his role with the early Internet.I think it’s something that we all sort of “know.” That Al Gore claimed he invented the Internet. I remember this being a small political issue at the time of the 2000 election, but I honestly never cared enough to investigate the details. Last weekend, however, I went down a research rabbit-hole and decided to find out the truth. Not because I’m a huge Al Gore fan, or because I’m looking to score points against him either. I was just genuinely interested, and wanted to find out the historical truth— not just the partisan-tinged conventional wisdom.So, here is what I found out.A full transcript of the CNN interview we talk about can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Summary:George Bell was the CEO of Excite.com, took that pioneering search engine public, and became the CEO of Excite@Home when he oversaw that major merger of the dotcom era. George talks about the development of search technology, the madness of the dotcom bubble and even explains the background to one of the more notorious what-ifs in Internet history: the time that Excite had the opportunity to buy Google for a mere $750,000. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ben Slivka, the original Internet Explorer team leader at Microsoft, shares captivating insights about the browser's evolution from version 1.0 to 4.0. He recounts Microsoft's early web journey, including pivotal moments during Windows 95's development. The discussion unveils internal struggles at Microsoft and strategic decisions made amidst rivalries with Netscape and other tech giants. Slivka also reflects on the transition from Microsoft to Amazon, touching on the significance of user experiences and competitive innovations that defined the browser landscape.

Halsey Minor, founder of CNet, shares his journey from Wall Street to creating one of the earliest web giants. He recounts the birth of CNet, highlighting its revolutionary role in tech journalism during the 90s. Halsey also discusses his partnership with Jeff Bezos and explores the transformative potential of Bitcoin, suggesting it could rival the impact of the web. His insights reveal how blockchain may disrupt traditional banking and challenge monopolies, paving the way for a more equitable financial future.

The first banner ads went live on the web 20 years ago today, October 27th, 1994, when the website HotWired.com first launched on the internet. We've spoken to some of the people responsible for the creation of these ads, and so, in honor of the anniversary, I have re-edited their interviews into an oral history that tells the whole story. But in case you think you've heard all this before, please note that there are segments from 4 entirely new interviews that you have NOT heard before. So, if you want to hear the whole story comprehensively, download and listen!THE FIRST BANNER ADPlease note: The post on the website for this episode has all the ads and graphics we mention throughout the podcast, so please check that out to see the full picture.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Summary:Younger listeners might know John Battelle as being one of the original forces behind the Web 2.0 movement, as the founder of the Web 2.0 Summit as well as Federated Media. But John was also the founding editor of both Wired Magazine and Industry Standard magazine, that great, lost magazine of record for the dot com era. For our purposes, we’ve been focusing more on HotWired, so that’s why I was super excited to speak with John and get some of the background stories from Wired the magazine as well as Industry Standard. Enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Summary:Another conversation with writer and journalist Chris Higgins. We start up talking about the recent sad demise of the Magazine, a project Chris was heavily involved in. But then we spend most of the episode talking about the early online services and what it was like to go online before online meant the web. If you’re from this era, get ready for a nostalgia bomb. Hope you enjoy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Summary:Joe McCambley is one of the more prominent names in modern digital marketing and advertising. He's had major roles at Digitas, at AOL in it's modern incarnation and he's the co-founder of the Wonder Factory. I wanted to talk to Joe about his time with Modem Media, where he was one of the creative forces behind the development of the first banner ads that premiered alongside the launch of HotWired. The 20th anniversary of these first banner ads is coming up at the end of the month, and I'm putting together a special episode where I'll edit together interviews from several different people all for one comprehensive piece that will tell the story. As I told Joe after this interview, my original intention was just to use this conversation as a part of that piece. But our discussion went in such wonderful directions, delving deep into nature of modern advertising and the future of marketing in the digital age, that I decided this deserved to be it's own stand alone-episode. If you're working in digital media today, I think this is required listening.Sponsor link:audibletrial.com/internethistoryThe "You Will" campaign can be viewed here.The first banner ad can be viewed here.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Summary:Owen Thomas is one of the most prominent voices in modern web media. He is currently the editor in chief of ReadWrite.com, but he was also the west coast editor for Business Insider, the founding editor of Daily Dot, executive editor of VentureBeat, managing editor of Valleywag… and I could go on and on… Business 2.0, Red Herring, etc. I was particularly excited to talk to Owen about some of his earliest jobs, at HotWired and at Suck. Owen gives us some more great background about the launch of Hotwired and the inner workings of Suck.Sponsor link:audibletrial.com/internethistory  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.