| Internet history timeline |
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Early research and development:
Merging the networks and creating the Internet:
Commercialization, privatization, broader access leads to the modern Internet:
Examples of Internet services:
- 1989 (1989): AOL dial-up service provider, email, instant messaging, and web browser
- 1990 (1990): IMDb Internet movie database
- 1994 (1994): Yahoo! web directory
- 1995 (1995): Amazon online retailer
- 1995 (1995): eBay online auction and shopping
- 1995 (1995): Craigslist classified advertisements
- 1995 (1995): AltaVista search engine
- 1996 (1996): Outlook (formerly Hotmail) free web-based e-mail
- 1996 (1996): RankDex search engine
- 1997 (1997): Google Search
- 1997 (1997): Babel Fish automatic translation
- 1998 (1998): Yahoo Groups (formerly Yahoo! Clubs)
- 1998 (1998): PayPal Internet payment system
- 1998 (1998): Rotten Tomatoes review aggregator
- 1999 (1999): 2ch Anonymous textboard
- 1999 (1999): i-mode mobile internet service
- 1999 (1999): Napster peer-to-peer file sharing
- 2000 (2000): Baidu search engine
- 2001 (2001): 2chan Anonymous imageboard
- 2001 (2001): BitTorrent peer-to-peer file sharing
- 2001 (2001): Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- 2003 (2003): LinkedIn business networking
- 2003 (2003): Myspace social networking site
- 2003 (2003): Skype Internet voice calls
- 2003 (2003): iTunes Store
- 2003 (2003): 4chan Anonymous imageboard
- 2003 (2003): The Pirate Bay, torrent file host
- 2004 (2004): Facebook social networking site
- 2004 (2004): Podcast media file series
- 2004 (2004): Flickr image hosting
- 2005 (2005): YouTube video sharing
- 2005 (2005): Reddit link voting
- 2005 (2005): Google Earth virtual globe
- 2006 (2006): Twitter microblogging
- 2007 (2007): WikiLeaks anonymous news and information leaks
- 2007 (2007): Google Street View
- 2007 (2007): Kindle, e-reader and virtual bookshop
- 2008 (2008): Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)
- 2008 (2008): Dropbox cloud-based file hosting
- 2008 (2008): Encyclopedia of Life, a collaborative encyclopedia intended to document all living species
- 2008 (2008): Spotify, a DRM-based music streaming service
- 2009 (2009): Bing search engine
- 2009 (2009): Google Docs, Web-based word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, form, and data storage service
- 2009 (2009): Kickstarter, a threshold pledge system
- 2009 (2009): Bitcoin, a digital currency
- 2010 (2010): Instagram, photo sharing and social networking
- 2011 (2011): Google+, social networking
- 2011 (2011): Snapchat, photo sharing
- 2012 (2012): Coursera, massive open online courses
- 2016 (2016): TikTok, video sharing and social networking
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Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals) and computers, as well as necessary enterprise software, middleware, storage and audiovisual, that enable users to access, store, transmit, understand and manipulate information.
ICT is also used to refer to the convergence of audiovisuals and telephone networks with computer networks through a single cabling or link system. There are large economic incentives to merge the telephone networks with the computer network system using a single unified system of cabling, signal distribution, and management. ICT is an umbrella term that includes any communication device, encompassing radio, television, cell phones, computer and network hardware, satellite systems and so on, as well as the various services and appliances with them such as video conferencing and distance learning. ICT also includes analog technology, such as paper communication, and any mode that transmits communication.
ICT is a broad subject and the concepts are evolving. It covers any product that will store, retrieve, manipulate, process, transmit, or receive information electronically in a digital form (e.g., personal computers including smartphones, digital television, email, or robots). Skills Framework for the Information Age is one of many models for describing and managing competencies for ICT professionals in the 21st century.