What was important
With a small program 20 years ago, a young man named Marc Andreessen opened the gate to cyberspace: Mosaic, a so-called browser, could not only display texts but also images, and his successor Netscape Navigator became a huge success within a very short time.

The web has evolved from a playground for nerds and researchers to a global communication space, and the browser has become the most important software for millions of people. Until the iPhone 2007, the app began its triumphal march. Smartphone users now spend 80% of their time accessing digital content through apps. The browser, on the other hand, is degenerating into a relic.

What becomes important
Last year, 73% of the net population went online with a mobile phone or tablet, and by 2017 it is expected to be 90%. Everyone wants to be part of the big conversation that is chasing around the globe through the ether: the use of apps for messages and social links tripled last year. Cyberspace is changing from a village to a digital metropolis, where people produce their own news in real time. Services like the NSA, which are also interested in the lives of others, have a lot of work to do if they want to keep track of things.

Source: Zeit Wissen 02/2014 – Magazin