1.2000: The (first) Internet bubble bursts. Lots of people made a lot of money, lots of people lost a lot. But the collapse’s effect, similar to a forest fire, cleared the way for a lot of new growth and a more mature, more reality-based Web.
2.2000: Craigslist starts its march to national prominence. The San Francisco tech-geek message list started expanding beyond the Bay City, adding nine cities. By decade’s end, it not only will have helped you sell your kid’s old bike, it will have threatened the very ecosystem of the news media by stripping away classified-ad revenue.
3.2001: The first iPod is introduced. Apple’s portable player of music in digital-file format would pave the way for music sales on the Internet (iTunes), challenging the share-with-everyone-but-the-creators model of Napster. iPods also, of course, would lead to the iPhone, which puts the World Wide Web of mobile entertainment, plus a phone, in people’s pockets.





