ABSTRACT
Since the early 2000s, the World Wide Web has transformed many aspects of peoples’ lives and ushered in new technologies, life-changing applications, and opportunities for social interaction. This trend was accelerated by the rise of mobile devices, first laptop computers and later smartphones. Although these devices are more powerful than mainframe computers of an earlier generation, they are further empowered by an infrastructure largely invisible to users – cloud storage and server farms. The web has given rise to global enterprises that were no more than the promise of things to come in the 1990s – such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, and Netflix. All of these have had major social and economic impacts. They have transformed the way many of us interact with our communities, how we choose and purchase goods, and how we consume media of all kinds. Their impact has transformed not only our lives but also our shopping districts. More innovation is on the horizon, such as cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens, whose histories are yet to unfold.
