10 Things We Didn’t Have 10 Years Ago

Happy New Year everybody! Welcome to 2010. Twitter has been abuzz with people saying stuff about #10YearsAgo. As for myself, 10 years ago I was a freshman in high school, using the family’s Performa 575, and not even a dial up connection at home. A lot has changed, as I’ve been through several computers (still a Mac guy, but presently running Windows 7, with about a 15Mbps connection to the world), spent some time in college, spent some time in Iraq, and spent a lot of time figuring out how to move forward in this rapidly changing world we live in.

Anyway, after seeing some stuff throughout the day, I’ve been inspired to make a short list of 10 things that we didn’t have 10 years ago.

1. Gmail – Released in 2004, Google changed the way we email. Do you remember 10 years ago? No way I could go through the amount of email I do, as quickly as I do, with what we used back then.
2. YouTube – Founded in 2005, and since purchased by Google, millions of people have gone on to use video creatively and share it with the world.
3. Hulu – We’ve had easier access to TV shows and select movies since 2007 with Hulu’s arrival. For many, this has provided access to TV shows they didn’t get on cable.
4. iPod – Apple dropped a bomb in late 2001 when they announced the iPod. The music industry will never be the same.
5. PS2/PS3/Xbox/Xbox360/Wii – Gaming has taken a flying leap forward with the releases in 2000/2006/2001/2005/2006. Advancing all the way to high def and physical activity, we’ve come a long way from Pong.
6. Mac OS X – The public beta came out late 2000, and brought a dramatic shift to the user interface of operating systems. This also paved the way for Apple’s transition to Intel processors.
7. Windows XP/Vista/7 – Windows finally broke out and ditched the gray interface this decade, progressing in 2001/2006/2009. Microsoft has truly seen the light of Apple, and gradually makes everything a little easier to use, even if a lot of it has obvious inspiration.
8. Twitter – Only here since 2007, Twitter is changing how people communicate with each other, how businesses communicate with customers, and how social media is done.
9. Facebook – Launched in 2004, they have rapidly grown to become not only the largest social network in America, but cash flow positive too.
10. WordPress – Millions of websites are based on it now, but WordPress wasn’t released until 2003.

What do you love today that wasn’t here 10 years ago? Take a look around, you might be surprised .

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