The internet of the 90s and the internet of today?

Question:

The internet of the 90s and the internet of today?

Can anyone who came around to the internet during the 1990's tell me what you find that's different about today's internet culture, and how it affects your view about the web?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

I did not access the www until 1998. Back then the internet was very non-commercial, artistic, and cliquish. Usenet was where you wanted to go to have a discussion online, the trolls there were actually hilariously intelligent and witty in their attacks.

Personal homepages were all the rage, and ICQ was the popular instant messenger. Many people went online to escape real life, to play. They weren't looking to shop, find a spouse, plan their futures, look for a job or research their personal problems.

The numbers of people in some online communities were small enough to where you were able to establish friendships that lasted years. In order to download an MP3 you had to trade on a upload/download ratio system. Yahoo was just a directory.

Today, I see millions of strangers, my friends have all but vanished, websites cater to the masses, it is all commercial now.