In early 2004, the world was shaking like a Polaroid, flocking to theaters to see what would happen to all those hobbits and wondering if this Tom Brady guy was special. Meanwhile, a few people around the world invented the Internet as we know it today: an earth-shattering social network was born in a Harvard dorm room. A Google employee dreamed about the future of email in his free time. The coolest phone of all time was about to be released. The Internet was still a niche activity, but that was about to change – and fast.
In many ways, the digital world we all live in today was created 20 years ago. Google went public and began to dominate the web. Facebook, Gmail, Firefox, Flickr and Digg were all launched – the year Web 2.0 became the Web. “Blog” and “The Long Tail” weren’t on anyone’s radar before 2004, and they’ve been everywhere since then. The United States experienced a contentious election, a series of sequels dominated the box office, and Apple released a new product that looked very cool but was ultimately eclipsed by a better product a year later. Okay, some things never change.
Of course, every year is a big year in technology, but 2004 was a particularly big year. And The edge didn't exist yet! That's why this week we'll be publishing stories about the best and most important gadgets and platforms launched this year, and articles about the cultural events that continue to influence the way we live. Basically, we're going to blog like it's 2004.
Today our first stories are online, covering everything from the first robo-car race to the Motorola Razr to the mystery of all our missing photos from 2004. There is also a special episode of The Vergecast All about the history and future of podcasts, an interview with Kevin Rose about Diggs' legacy, and a shockingly tough quiz that asks one simple question: Did it happen in 2004 or 2024?
We'll be posting more stories and videos from 2004 throughout the week and want to hear all your memories of 2004 too! Share your favorite images from this year, your favorite 20-year-old gadgets that would still work (or, shockingly, still work), and anything else you remember from this landmark year in our recent past. We will do the same. It will be more fun than Shrek 2.