What was going on with the Internet in 2004
In 2004 Facebook and Flickr were launched!
Founded by Mark Zuckerberg and his college roommates and fellow Harvard University students, Facemash was rebranded The Facebook and launched in February 2004. According to Wikipedia, membership was initially restricted to students of Harvard University. Within the first month more than half the undergraduate population at Harvard were registered on the service. In March 2004 Facebook expanded to Stanford, Columbia, and Yale. This expansion continued when it opened to all Ivy League and Boston-area schools. It gradually reached most universities in the United States and Canada.
Today, Facebook has 2.9 billion monthly active users. Mark Zuckerberg's net worth is estimated at $174 billion by Forbes, making him the fourth richest person in the world.
On February 10, 2004 Stewart Butterfield and Caterina Fake launched Flickr. Yahoo! acquired Flickr on March 20, 2005 for between $22 million and $25 million.
In 2004 the number of websites with their own designated URL was 51,611,6467*.
* www.internetlivestats.com