Chapters 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 analyze the blossoming of the national dial-up network. The market had the air of an impatient gold rush. These chapters show how innovation from the edges shaped the timing of investment and actions. Investment by one type of participant increased the value of action by another, accumulating in a virtuous cycle of value creation.
TABLE 6.1. Selected notable events from chapters 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Year |
Chapter |
Notable Event |
1992 |
7 |
David Clark delivers “Rough Consensus and Running Code” |
7 |
Internet Society founded and IETF becomes part of it |
|
7 |
Tim Berners-Lee first visits the IETF to standardize the web |
|
1993 |
8 |
Louis Gerstner hired as CEO at IBM |
7 |
CERN renounces ownership rights to World Wide Web code |
|
8 |
Earliest ads for ISPs appear in Boardwatch Magazine |
|
1994 |
6 |
Vermeer founded, begins work on web-authoring tools |
7 |
Tim Berners-Lee founds the World Wide Web Consortium |
|
6 |
Brad Silverberg organizes team at Microsoft to examine web |
|
1995 |
6 |
Gates circulates the memo, “The Internet Tidal Wave” |
6, 7 |
Netscape IPO and the launch of Windows 95 |
|
9 |
HoTMaiL founded and “viral marketing” is invented. |
|
1996 |
8 |
Microsoft offers Internet Explorer at a price of zero |
8 |
AT&T WorldNet sold at $19.95 for unlimited service |
|
8 |
AOL implements all-you-can-eat pricing |
|
1997 |
8 |
56K modems first introduced |
10 |
Tiered structure emerges among Internet data carriers |
|
9 |
Netscape and Microsoft reach parity in browser features |
|
1998 |
10 |
WorldCom merges with MCI, spins off backbone assets |
8 |
Over 65,000 phone numbers available for dial-up ISPs |
|
1999 |
9 |
Dot-com boom reaches greatest height |
10 |
WorldCom proposed merger with Sprint is called off |
|
2000 |
8 |
Boardwatch Magazine records over 7,000 ISPs |
9 |
Internet adoption nears saturation at medium/large businesses |