Evolution of File Sharing
Sharing files was never as easy as it currently is. It literally happens instantly, but its also come a long way to get to this point. Everything starts from nothing and file sharing is no exception. Way back when, file sharing consisted of snail mail- the physical act of mailing something to your chosen recipient. Whereas today with the highlighting of a few names and the click of a button you can share anything you want with however many people you choose, and they'll get it that second (sometimes a little slower depending on service/WiFi, but that's another i
ssue). Sharing files is a crucial part of the internet, and almost without it you would have no real purpose for it. Essentially when you think of the internet in its simplest form everything consists of file sharing, just in a more public domain. Not everything on the internet is yours or mine, thus everything has been publicly shared for everyone to enjoy. I think the biggest jump in file sharing happened starting in the early 2000's when the world underwent a massive surge in technological innovation, and something we've been in competition with one another ever since.
Starting in the 2000's people wanted an easier and faster way to share things with their friends. With the internet being fairly new at this point in time there weren't many options available at the turn of the century. However, slowly file sharing applications for various mediums started to pop up, music being a popular medium of choice for people. Although it also must be reiterated that sharing speeds at his time more than ever, depended greatly on a person's network and connectivity. Two popular file sharing networks that come to mind for me are napster and limewire, which were both used to download music illegally. This was clearly all the rage for me and my middle school friends. Although these are just the two main ones I think of it is worth noting that there were several other options, and not all of them dealt with music specifically.
Once the ever prominent "cloud" became a thing, the game of file sharing was forever changed. Whether it be for good is an entirely different topic (due to privacy of our files). Amazon, Apple, and Dropbox are the three most prevalent usages of the cloud storage system, which allows files to be stored at a third party location (not you computer, which creates more storage for you in the long run). Have these various clouds for almost every application you use makes file sharing that much faster, and sometimes even better. Sometimes technology has its problems so faster does not always equate to better.. HA!
All-in-all, I think file sharing has come a long way, and that there is even more progress to be made. People are always searching for the next big thing, and with the demands of technology increasing and the needs of file sharing growing, it only becomes a matter time before the next wave of file sharing occurs.
Link for a full break down of the evolution of file sharing: https://www.smartfile.com/blog/an-all-too-brief-history-of-file-sharing/
Starting in the 2000's people wanted an easier and faster way to share things with their friends. With the internet being fairly new at this point in time there weren't many options available at the turn of the century. However, slowly file sharing applications for various mediums started to pop up, music being a popular medium of choice for people. Although it also must be reiterated that sharing speeds at his time more than ever, depended greatly on a person's network and connectivity. Two popular file sharing networks that come to mind for me are napster and limewire, which were both used to download music illegally. This was clearly all the rage for me and my middle school friends. Although these are just the two main ones I think of it is worth noting that there were several other options, and not all of them dealt with music specifically.
Once the ever prominent "cloud" became a thing, the game of file sharing was forever changed. Whether it be for good is an entirely different topic (due to privacy of our files). Amazon, Apple, and Dropbox are the three most prevalent usages of the cloud storage system, which allows files to be stored at a third party location (not you computer, which creates more storage for you in the long run). Have these various clouds for almost every application you use makes file sharing that much faster, and sometimes even better. Sometimes technology has its problems so faster does not always equate to better.. HA!
All-in-all, I think file sharing has come a long way, and that there is even more progress to be made. People are always searching for the next big thing, and with the demands of technology increasing and the needs of file sharing growing, it only becomes a matter time before the next wave of file sharing occurs.
Link for a full break down of the evolution of file sharing: https://www.smartfile.com/blog/an-all-too-brief-history-of-file-sharing/
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