Smartphones, tablets, and computers run our lives these days. In very little time technology has exploded in the market and now, many people cannot imagine a life without it. To understand how we got from back in the dark ages (which really wasn’t all that long ago) to where we are today, it is important to understand how technology evolves.

All technologies are born out of purpose. For example, search engines were created to sort through the massive amounts of data online. With each new upgrade technology compounds existing technologies to create something better than what was previously used before. The more this happens, the more technology evolves to become the essential thing it is today.

As ideas get compounded to form new technologies, these new technologies are set up to become components of future new technologies, and so on, and so forth. Existing technologies evolve into something far more powerful and greater than we had before.

With the fast speed of technological evolution, it is no wonder many people have struggled to keep up. Here is a brief overview that shows just how rapidly the Internet, and technology as a whole have evolved in recent years.

The Past

Looking back to the 1990’s, the Internet was a new commodity that many, but not all, households and businesses had. For people living during that time, the sound of the painfully slow dial up signal connecting to the Internet is a not-so fond memory. As more people found value in the Internet, technology took off to eliminate having to use a phone line to go online and instead deliver faster connections to the World Wide Web.

Websites advanced with it. Suddenly, everyone had a Geocities or Tripod website dedicated to themselves. This is when the blogging craze started to set in on the consumer level.

Sharing information gradually started to become easier. Instead of handing over a floppy disc, or CD-ROM, people began emailing documents or storing large files on USB sticks.

As new technologies started to pop-up, each technology would compound and build to form a better, faster, and stronger piece of technology. With this fast development, the Internet changed the way people live, work, and operate today.

The Present

Since the days of dial up, access to the Internet has popped up almost everywhere. It is rare these days that consumers can go into a coffee shop, library, or any place of business and not be able to access a Wi-Fi signal. If there isn’t a Wi-Fi signal in close range, most people still have access to the Internet via their cellular data connection on their smartphones.

With this anywhere/anytime access to the Internet, businesses have created web applications that answer common needs of consumers. These applications can do everything from tracking food portions to sending massive amounts of information in a click of a button.

Perhaps the most noticeable difference in the Internet today is the ability to be personable in such an impersonal setting. Social networks have changed the way people engage with one another. Now, the way people connect with one another has changed to a more superficial setting online. Although superficial, this form of communication has helped people stay closer to each other when they would have otherwise lost contact.

Face-to-face conversations are easier too. With more people engaging in web/video conferencing online, geographic barriers that once hindered communication have been torn down. Instead, companies can engage with consumers in a more human manner, people can talk to people face-to-face without the need for costly travel, and reaching out to people all over the world is faster and easier.

With so many new technologies permeating the way people access information and access each other, the forward momentum looks promising for future technological developments.

The Future

As more existing technologies are stacked onto each other and developed into something greater, consumers and businesses alike can expect to see more opportunity with future technology. Technology will be faster, have the ability to accomplish more, and everything will become more streamlined to make getting work done, easier.

Smart devices, such as smartphones and tablets, will continue to evolve to work better together. These machines will share data automatically limiting the need for human involvement.

More people and companies will use cloud services for their business, or store everything online instead of on a single device. This has enormous potential to change the way business is done, the way the traditional office looks, and how people interact with companies on a regular basis.

The more technology continues to evolve, the more the world will change, creating new habits, and forming new ways of working together.