The interconnection of the world through trade, technology, and communication — from the World Wide Web to smartphones to social media.
Tim Berners-Lee makes the World Wide Web freely available, beginning the transformation of the internet from a research tool to a global platform.
Jeff Bezos founds Amazon as an online bookstore, pioneering the e-commerce model that will transform global retail.
The World Trade Organization begins operations, creating the rules-based framework for an explosion of global trade.
Larry Page and Sergey Brin launch Google, which will become the gateway to the world's information and one of the most powerful companies in history.
China's WTO membership integrates the world's most populous nation into the global trading system, reshaping manufacturing worldwide.
Mark Zuckerberg launches Facebook from a Harvard dorm room, beginning the social media era that will reshape communication, politics, and culture.
The iPhone debuts, catalyzing the smartphone revolution and putting powerful computers, cameras, and internet access in billions of pockets.
Instagram launches, epitomizing the shift toward visual, mobile-first social media that reshapes culture and communication.
Protesters across the Middle East use Twitter and Facebook to organize, demonstrating social media's power as a tool for political mobilization.
Britain votes to leave the EU; populist movements gain ground globally, fueled partly by social media's amplification of grievance.
COVID-19 lockdowns force billions to work and study from home, accelerating digital transformation by a decade in months.
Large language models and generative AI burst into mainstream use, raising profound questions about work, creativity, and the future of human knowledge.