Today marks a significant milestone in the history of technology: On this day in 1969, the first Interface Message Processor (IMP) was delivered to UCLA.
You won’t have heard of it, but this device was the very first building block of the Internet as we know it today. The IMP was a revolutionary piece of technology that allowed different research networks to connect, and it became the first generation of what we now call network routers.
Just a month later, the second IMP was installed at the Stanford Research Institute. These two devices made history on October 19, 1969, when the first message was sent between them. UCLA student Charley Kline attempted to send the word “login,” but the system crashed after just the first two letters, making “lo” the first message ever transmitted over what would become the Internet.
While simple, this first communication was the spark that ignited our digital revolution.
For business owners, this anniversary is a reminder of the incredible impact that technology has had on the way we work and communicate. The Internet has grown from those first two letters – lo – into a tool that powers everything.
Where would we be without it today? It’s a hard thought to comprehend, isn’t it?
First Building Block of the Internet – This Day in Tech History