This article reflects on the mid-1990s web ecosystem before Google's dominance, highlighting how search was just one part of a broader discovery landscape. It emphasizes the role of human-curated directories like Yahoo, Usenet communities, and early engines like AltaVista and Lycos in shaping early internet navigation.
Background
In the mid-1990s, the World Wide Web was growing rapidly but lacked a dominant search engine, leading to a fragmented landscape of directories, newsgroups, and early search tools.
- Source
- Ars Technica
- Published
- Aug 7, 2026 at 07:00 PM
- Score
- 5.0 / 10