The Early Days Of the Web

When web met logs

In the mid-1990s, the internet was just emerging into the mainstream, and most websites consisted of plain pages with text and links. The web was a new frontier waiting to be explored. Search engines were basic, connections were slow, but there was a sense of excitement about the potential of this technology to connect people globally.

One student's innovation

In 1994, college student Justin Hall became intrigued by this fledgling online world and decided to create his own personal website on the web. Called "Justin's Links from the Underground," the site compiled some of his favorite links he had discovered, early versions of a link aggregation page.

The birth of an online journal

But Justin's site quickly evolved past just collected links. He began using it to document his daily thoughts, activities, and experiences—almost like an open diary. This was one of the first times someone had utilized the web in this introspective, journal-like manner. Justin was sharing a window into his pers…