See How CNN Reported on the Internet in 1993

In 1993, there was no Google, Facebook, YouTube, or Amazon. But an early version of the internet was there for people with the curiosity and the hardware necessary to explore it. To see how journalists reported on the advent of "the Net" 29 years ago, check out this video.

CNN's compilation of news footage from 1993 shows how people talked about the World Wide Web when it was a novel form of technology. With so many of the websites we use today still on the horizon in the early '90s, there was a lot of room for predictions about the network. Some forecasts—like online communication revolutionizing scientific research—came true. Others—like the idea that the internet would only be accessible to the wealthy, or that most kids would eventually prefer reading a digital encyclopedia to playing video games—missed the mark.

Though most conjecture about the internet from the '90s seems quaint today, a few people got it right. David Bowie famously spoke on the web's potential to change society, both for "good and bad," during an interview with the BBC in 1999. After watching the video below, you can listen to the interview here.