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US Election, iPhone Among Decade’s Top Web Moments
November 19, 2009

Smartphones have gone from luxury to necessity, according to the Webby awards. (Photo: AFP) Smartphones have gone from luxury to necessity, according to the Webby awards. (Photo: AFP)
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New York. The launch of Wikipedia, emergence of the iPhone and the election of US President Barack Obama were among the 10 most influential moments on the Internet in the past decade, according to the annual Webby awards.

Another event singled out by the New York-based International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, which has presented the annual Webby awards since 1996, was the Iranian election in 2009 and its aftermath, when protests demonstrated the power of Twitter and other social network in reshaping democracy.

“The Internet is the story of the decade, because it was the catalyst for change in not just every aspect of our everyday lives, but in everything from commerce and communication to politics and pop culture,” said David-Michel Davies, the executive director of The Webby Awards, in a statement.

Here is the Webby’s list of the 10 most influential Internet moments of the decade:

• Craigslist, the free classified ads site, expands outside San Francisco in 2000, having an impact on newspaper publishers everywhere.

• Google AdWords launches in 2000, allowing advertisers to target customers with laser-sharp precision.

• Wikipedia, the free open-source encyclopedia, launches in 2001. Today, the site boasts more than 14 million articles in 271 different languages and brings strangers together on different projects.

• Napster shuts down in 2001, opening the file-sharing floodgates.

• Google’s IPO in 2004 puts the search engine on the path to powering countless aspects of our everyday lives.

• Online video revolution in 2006 that led to a boom in homemade and professional content on the Internet, helping to reshape everything from pop culture to politics.

• Facebook opens to non-college students and Twitter takes off in 2006.

• The iPhone debuts in 2007 and smartphones go from a luxury item to a necessity with an app for almost every aspect of life.

• US presidential campaign in 2008 in which the Internet changed every facet of the way campaigns are run.

• Iranian election protests in 2009 when Twitter proved vital in organizing demonstrations and as a protest tool.



Reuters