In 1962, ARPA began investigating the idea of networked computers. This need alone lead to the development of computers "talking " thus creating a interconnected set of computers through which everyone could quickly and easily access data and programs from any site across the country, "1964, some researchers had begun using their enormous mainframe computers to occasionally trade information by an early, informal form of e-mail but the purpose wasn't to formulate a research network; they were just trying to get their work done efficiently." So as in many things in science, the need for an easier and smarter way to do things led to the internet being developed. By 1969 legitimate networks had been developed for use to speed up the transfer and allow for more volumes of data to be sent. .
.
Of note in 1969 are the ARPA and its "network " to go on line. Universities such as Stanford, UCSB, UCLA and Utah State were connected via computers and the first official ARPANET was launched. Of importance here is not so much the actual mechanics behind the advancement of the science but the intent of it and what it was supposed to represent. "The democratic way in which decisions were made by these pioneers became a basis for the free-speech, free-exchange format of the internet. " (Abbate, 1999) This is important as we see in today's legal battles over the internet and free speech issues. .
Moving along, we find that between 1970 and 1979 the expansion of the internet started to reach a rapid pace. Much was accomplished in the way of computer science and as such the internet kept pace with those advancements. At this point the word had gotten out and it was not a secret that the internet could be used in other endeavors. "Jimmy Carter's presidential campaign staff sent out e-mail several times a day in the fall of 1976, earning him the descriptor "computer-driven candidate." (Naughton, 1999) I cannot imagine too many people receiving these emails back then but in contrast to the recent election and the use of the internet by both candidates demonstrate both the advancement and power of the internet crossing into the political world.
