West Virginia Executive Summer 2023 | Page 35

9 . Segways : These scooters that police officers in movies seem fond of didn ’ t
hit the streets until 2001 .
10 . Wikipedia : This one surprised me . The online encyclopedia that our teachers always warned us not to trust for accurate information has only been around since 2001 .
18 . iPads : The first of many Apple tablet computers launched in 2010 . You often find them in the hands of children with an exhausted parent standing nearby .
19 . Smart TVs : They ’ re like regular TVs , but smarter . These first appeared in 2007 .
11 . LinkedIn : An increasingly popular platform for job seekers and professionals , LinkedIn was founded in December 2002 .
12 . Smartwatches : Smartwatches have been putting alarm clocks , regular clocks and even gyms out of business since around 2009 .
13 . Skype : A telecommunication platform that we here at WVE still use on a daily basis ( for work , of course , definitely not for sending memes back and forth ), Skype was founded in 2003 .
14 . Twitter : It would take more than 280 characters to describe the impact this micro-blogging social media platform has had on the world , but I can tell you in brief that it launched in 2006 .
20 . Toyota Prius : While invented in 1997 , this popular vehicle with running internet jokes about being owned by slow drivers ( sorry , Prius people ) wasn ’ t accessible to the public until 2001 .
21 . Amazon Prime : Who can imagine life without free two-day shipping ? As much as we hate to think about it , Amazon wasn ’ t bringing packages to anyone ’ s door until 2005 .
22 . Bitcoin : Digital money , hmm … sounds fake to me . The new form of currency launched in 2009 and has been questionable ever since .
23 . Instagram : A little over a decade ago , this photosharing platform launched and turned the “ pound sign ” into a “ hashtag .” # 2010
15 . Tesla : These pricey electric vehicles first hit the market in 2003 .
24 . Google : The world ’ s most popular search engine wasn ’ t a thing until August 1998 . Don ’ t believe me ? Google it .
16 . Siri : “ Hey Siri , when were you invented ?” The virtual assistant iPhone feature with the robot voice was created by Apple in 2010 .
25 . Nintendo Wii : 2012 . The year endless entertainment became achievable with just a TV and a rectangular white remote .
17 . Uber : It wasn ’ t until March 2009 that hitchhiking became cool .
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