AI Explodes, Mobile Reigns, Outages Rise
2023 was a year of explosive growth, shifting trends, and unsettling vulnerabilities for the internet.
Let's take a quick look at the year's defining moments:
AI Takes Center Stage: OpenAI's ChatGPT burst onto the scene, showcasing the power of generative AI to create realistic text formats. This sparked a wave of excitement and exploration, with other players like Character AI and QuillBot joining the game. Expect AI to revolutionize content creation in the years to come.
Mobile Rules the Web: Our love affair with smartphones solidified, with over 40% of web traffic now happening on mobile devices. Apple devices took the lead, with a notable rise in Starlink usage highlighting the growing demand for alternative internet access solutions.
Outages Plague the Web: A worrying trend emerged - a significant increase in internet outages, often government-imposed shutdowns, exposing the fragility of internet access in certain regions. This underscores the need for robust and accessible internet infrastructure around the world.
Security Concerns Linger: Cyberattacks remained a constant threat, with the Log4j vulnerability and the newly discovered HTTP/2 Rapid Reset being exploited. Ransomware, malware, and phishing attacks continued to disrupt businesses, emphasizing the importance of strong cybersecurity measures.
Google Reigns Supreme, Facebook Reclaims Social Media: While the internet landscape shifted, some things remained constant. Google held onto its top spot as the most visited website, while Facebook dethroned TikTok to reclaim the social media crown.
Twitter/X: A Tale of Fluctuations: Elon Musk's Twitter, now known as X, had a rollercoaster year. After peaking during the Ukraine war in 2022, it experienced a downward trend, eventually settling between 13th and 19th positions by year-end. Interestingly, X/Twitter saw increased weekend popularity, suggesting a connection to specific events like European football matches.
Looking Ahead: 2023 painted a vibrant picture of a constantly evolving internet. As we move forward, addressing security vulnerabilities, promoting alternative internet access options, and navigating the ethical implications of AI will be crucial challenges to tackle. The future of the internet promises to be even more dynamic and impactful, and we can't wait to see what unfolds in 2024.