Q-Rewind: Google’s Humble Beginning

With all the talk about Google Chrome traffic and the future of the Web, we thought we’d take a look back at the past and just how far some online services have evolved.

Our first Q-Rewind stop is in November of 1998, when a couple of dudes from Stanford set up a small search engine. The home page looked a little less high-tech than what we know now.

Click on either option there, though, and you’d get these spiffy-looking first editions of the now ubiquitous product:

Now, to be fair, the then-dominant Yahoo was looking pretty hot back in the mid-90s, too. Here’s the cutting-edge search look of October 1996:

Speaking of cutting-edge, over on the browser side, the Mozilla home page was sporting a sweet Atari-style design around December of ’98.

And just for kicks, we thought we’d see what DuncanRiley.com was up to in its infancy.

Whoops, still in the womb there. Let’s fast-forward just a hair, about one month ahead for the real deal.

You know, this is kind of like the modern equivalent of looking back at old photos from the 80s. Good times.

Anyhow, enough rewinding for one day. Back to the future, my friends…until next time.