DDS inlogscherm 1993
DDS 1993/remake: Waag BY-NC-SA

20 years Digital City

On 15 January 2014 it was exactly 20 years ago that the Internet went public with the arrival of the 'Digital City' in Amsterdam (DDS).

For the first time in history, it offered access to an open, social online environment in Amsterdam. The early adopters were mostly hackers and artists, a wider audience followed suit. There was even some congestion on the digital 'highway', as modems were sold out in Amsterdam.

Twenty years later, everything that the Internet has brought us is more or less taken for granted. We have become valued content ourselves, but we are under complete surveillance when we are online. How public can the Internet still be called nowadays? What is its current state? What did 20 years of technology bring us?

That's why we organized the event 'Let's fix the Internet' at the Waag on 15 January, to create a roadmap for the future of the Internet. We also celebrated the fact that DSS will become part of the collection of the Amsterdam Museum.