Many years ago, back in my ministry days, I was a big fan of the author Elton Trueblood. I remember in one of his books he discussed his first working title, which his publisher would not let him use (the publisher thought readers would just assume it was a history book). The title: The Early Christians (or, maybe The Early Church — I don’t quite remember). His premise was this – though he was writing well into the 20th Century, he was convinced that these were in fact the early days of the church.
I thought of that when I read the Jeff Bezos’ belief that it is still Day 1 in the unfolding history of the internet. In other words, scarcely 18 years into the era of the internet for us common mortals (Netscape came along in 1995), we really have not even seen the beginning of the beginning of the internet.
I suspect that Mr. Bezos is correct. I certainly did not understand that, in the blink of an eye, “big data” would be so everywhere upon us. Nor did I even dream that I would make some of my Christmas purchases during commercials of a football game from my tv room, on some light, easy to use device from a one-click-to-purchase web site. (I’m not even sure I remember when I first heard the phrase “web site”).
And, the breakthrough and discoveries will continue. There is no telling what is coming soon, and then later, and then much much later.
In other words, it is all so very new that a book on The Early Days of the Internet would simply be premature.
First Friday Book Synopsis 
Bob, this was a “to think about” (“thought experiment”) post. Elton Trueblood was certainly aware that there were many, many books about “the early church.” But, as he wrote, he was saying/thinking — “what if folks look back on the 20th century many centuries from now and think of the 20th century as the “early church.”
I have no idea what is coming in the technology arena. (maybe some idea short term — I suspect long term, it has not yet been imagined). But if the world lasts, centuries from now people may write about the early days of the internet from the 23rd century, or the 24th century. That is what Bezos was driving at — “still Day 1 of the internet.” In other words, what will be accomplished through this breakthrough technology has barely begun to be imagined.
Of course I know that the internet goes back well before Netscape in 1995. But, as I wrote — “the internet for us common mortals (Netscape came along in 1995)” — for the average user of the internet, it took the web browser to begin to access its possibilities. And that was Netscape, 1995. So, yes, the “world wide web.” But, for most folks, that is the “internet.”