SMRTR TechSep 22, 2025Ars Technica

A history of the Internet, part 3: The rise of the user

SMRTR summary

Steve Jobs' iTunes Store, Wikipedia, YouTube, and Facebook transformed the internet from a text-based system to a user-driven platform where anyone could share and create. Google revolutionized search by analyzing link patterns rather than just counting keywords. The internet's evolution from ARPANET to today's social media landscape represents a shift from inventor-driven technology to user-generated content, though recent profit-seeking has led to concerns about AI-generated content diminishing human creativity.

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