Technology

10 years seems to be a very short time compared to "birth of the universe". I've been in Canada for just more than 11 years. If I didn't think about this, I probably wouldn't have noticed the advance of technology.
When I first came to Canada, I could barely use the computer. The Internet was practically a new invention, not that many websites are created yet. However, my first real attempt at technology was ICQ. Yes, ICQ. An application still exists today but rarely used. I remember using ICQ and try to get a very "nice" number, as in very easy to remember like 11223344. People would brag about their 6-digits or 7-digits account. That showed how up-to-date they were with technology. One of the pioneers or "first" users on ICQ. How easily ICQ can get hacked or changed your own info to something ridculously fictional. That was the first time, I had reconnected with my friends from HK and probably the last time. I still remember at that time, the competition between AOL and Yahoo. Which company is better? Those free trial discs from AOL are always so worthless and used as a cup holder. The use of dial-up seems so fast even though it blocks the phone line.
Next big thing, I remember is MSN and Google. As more of my friends were switching to MSN because they claimed MSN better ICQ. I remember running both applications at the same time but I had more people on ICQ so that obviously different. I tried using AOL Messenger but it's not much different except less people used it. As time passes, ICQ is slowly phased out of my life. I had a record of 5 accounts at one time.
After MSN and Google, blogging begins. The first popular blogsite is Xanga. It sounded weird at first so I was a bit iffy about it. Finally, I caved in and gave it a try. It's actually pretty good. I tried doing different things with my blogs like ranting and writing random stuff. Eventually, privacy issues came up and people started to set up those walls to prevent stalkers. Internet stalkers sure are scary but knowing who they are is even worse. How? From alternate trackers offered through C++ codes. Some websites offer codes embedded in your site to tracker who is/are coming to view your page. Finally, Xanga caught on and have their own trackers. People are starting to avoid going to view other's pages unless they are actually following their blogs/readings, some people do that other than online diaries.
Blogging continues on as a new invention came up. YouTube. No one can escape the wrath of YouTube. I can bet my savings that ANYBODY with a computer with access to Internet has gone to YouTube at least once in their lifetime, whether voluntarily or redirected. I'll say YouTube is the most used "applications" in the web right now, if not ever.
Along side with the invention of YouTube, there came the Social Network, the first popular one is MySpace. Not Facebook. I never signed up for MySpace because I already have Xanga. I've seen people on MySpace, it's insane. You can add whoever you want on your profile. From real celebrities to strangers just wanna say hi. I am open-minded but I don't wanna meet strangers from webs, it's too creepy for me. Anybody can fake identities. However, I did join FB because it's different. In the beginning, it was a college-based web where you can meet fellow colleagues from your universities. Later on, it expanded to the rest of the people. I used FB to try to find old friends and get in touched. It actually worked based on the info you put in. In MySpace, you can't do that. Maybe you can but it's gonna be tougher to find common birthplace and school.
You see how quick technology advances? Once we found the new thing on the web, we go there and signed up, unless it totally sucks like AOL. Old applications are being replaced or phased out. If they want to keep up, they have to keep re-invent their appeal to attract or maintain users. In these short decade, the advance of technology sure is scary. I can't imagine what technology will bring us in the next decade.