Technology that changed us: The 2000s, from iPhone to Twitter

Editor’s Note: ZDNET’s “Technology that Changed Us” series was first published in 2018. We’ve updated this installment to improve its accuracy and ensure that it reflects recent technology developments.

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In this 50-year retrospective, we’re looking at technologies that had an impact on the world, paved the way for the future, and changed us, in ways good and bad.

Also: The 1970s | The 1980s | The 1990s | The 2000s | The 2010s

2000: Google AdWords

It’s not hard to see the impact AdWords had on the online advertising industry, but one thing is for sure: Nothing has been the same. AdWords took the risk out of advertising — mostly.

Also: Google’s new gen AI tools help hyper-target your ad campaigns

Instead of buying an ad for a period of time and paying the fee, advertisers could buy a certain level of performance in terms of click-throughs. But it was also up to the advertiser to properly construct their ads, with better-performing ads rising to the top. This is a huge business. By the end of 2024, Google’s ad revenue was more than $200 billion.

Runners up: Microsoft C#. Oh, and we survived Y2K.

2001: Apple iPod

We continue to look at products that laid the foundation for the modern world. Windows XP and OS X (now MacOS) 10.0 were both released in 2001, and served as the foundation for our current desktop operating systems.

Also: The best over-ear headphones of 2025

But it was the iPod that continued the tech world’s inexorable move to a mobile-first environment. There were many MP3 players before the iPod. However, the iPod was introduced with what was — for that time — such shockingly generous storage capacity that music lovers could take their entire music collection with them wherever they went.

Runners up: Macintosh OS X and Windows XP.

2002: The Tor Project

Tor, based originally on an onion router project developed for the US Navy, is designed to keep communications secure, even at a level that can surpass VPNs. The idea behind an onion router is that there are layers of security (like layers in an onion) that would have to be peeled away to find out a user’s identity. Since Tor transmits through a series of IP addresses, the destination IP address will never know the address of the originating IP.

Also: How to use Tor browser (and why you should)

In a world where privacy is becoming ever more difficult to secure, where governments, terrorists, and criminals are actively spying on users everywhere, a tool to protect privacy becomes ever more important. Unfortunately, like many technologies, privacy provided to the innocent can also be used by bad guys. Even so, the non-profit Tor project exists to preserve and protect identities the world over.

Tor, by itself, may not have changed the world as much as something like Android has. But Tor enabled the world changers to work safely and freely, and that’s its ultimate contribution.

2003: Android founded

Most people think of the Android operating system as something Google developed, but that’s not the whole story. Android was founded as a company, initially intended to build an operating system for digital cameras. At one point, the company was so close to closing down, it couldn’t pay its rent.

That was then. Today, Android is the most successful (in terms of user numbers) operating system in history. Unfortunately, it’s also fragmented almost beyond recognition, and suffers from many security concerns and forks. Even so, Android is dominant numerically, and will likely remain so for years.

Runners up: iTunes on Windows, DDR2 SDRAM, and H.264.

2004: Facebook founded

In addition to Facebook, the company Mark Zuckerberg founded in 2004 as TheFacebook and now known as Meta owns Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger, along with ZDNET’s 2023 Product of the Year, the Quest 3. Together this juggernaut dominates messaging and social media to a degree never before seen.

Also: How to protect your privacy from Facebook – and what doesn’t work

Not only has Facebook transformed how people connect and communicate, it’s also created its own vast walled garden, filled with details about nearly every human on the planet. How it uses that data, how it manipulates that data, and how it protects that data will be a problem for all of us for years to come.

Runners up: Gmail, World of Warcraft, Spirit Mars Rover, and Dr. Bob Dylan.

2005: YouTube

In 2005, it was difficult and expensive to distribute video. I did some videos for clients and the challenges and costs were enormous. All that changed when YouTube made internet videos free for everyone.

Also: How to download YouTube videos for free

Consumers are 27 times (not percent, times!) more likely to click through a video ad than through a standard banner. That alone should get your attention.

According to Google parent Alphabet (which owns YouTube), more 18- to 49-year-olds watch YouTube videos on mobile than they watch any broadcast network. Google says the same demographic group dropped TV watching by 4 percent, but in 2015, increased YouTube watch time by 74 percent.

Runners up: Reddit, Google Maps, and Xbox 360.

2006: Twitter (now known as X)

What can you say about Twitter in 140 characters? #TurnsOut #YouCanSayALot.

Although Twitter increased its character count to 280 in 2017, the micro-blogging service created a new way to reach a tremendous number of people, instantly. Perhaps nothing showcases Twitter’s power more than Donald Trump’s initial rise to US President. By using Twitter, Trump bypassed all the gatekeepers and built his own audience of dedicated fans.

Also: How to delete your X/Twitter account for good (and protect your data)

Of course, Twitter’s story since that time has been its own soap opera. Elon Musk bought Twitter, renamed it X, then changed many of its policies and the overall flavor of the service. There are still many diehard Twitter/X fans, but there’s also been a rise in other social networks in response to these changes.

Runners up: Blu-ray, AWS, PlayStation 3, Wii, WikiLeaks, and Zune (just kidding).

2007: iPhone

The iPhone. It was rumored and anticipated for years, but when Steve Jobs finally held it up to show the world, the handset exceeded everyone’s expectations. However, it wasn’t simply the iPhone that blew apart the PC, music, landline, and cell phone markets. It was the apps, which took another year.

Also: I bought an iPhone 16 for its AI features, but I haven’t used them even once – here’s why

Once Apple introduced the App Store, and created a way for users to access apps for a few bucks and the touch of a button, the last bit of friction between digital technology and digital technology use was gone — and the world was forever changed.

Runners up: Kindle, Apple TV, Google Street View, and DDR3 SDRAM.

2008: Airbnb

The techie in me would like to give this year to Google Chrome, Windows Server 2008, or Hyper-V, because all were impressive, influential products. But the charter for this list is technologies that changed us, and Airbnb has impacted housing, hotels, towns, and cities the world over.

What seemed like a simple sharing economy way of enabling folks to let rooms in their houses has become a worldwide phenomenon, causing civil governments all over the planet to rethink their approach to zoning and land use. It’s not all good: Airbnb is blamed for rising rents and a reduction in the availability of rental properties. Even so, Airbnb gets our nod, because it’s like nothing that has come before.

Runner ups: Google Chrome and Tesla Roadster.

2009: Fitbit Tracker

As our list of runners-up for 2009 shows, a lot of innovation happened in 2009. But we’re giving our nod to the first Fitbit because it helped kick off the quantified self movement with a device sporting no subscription fees and a full week of battery life.

Also: How iOS 18 turned my Apple Watch into the productivity tool of my sci-fi dreams

Although Fitbit has a raft of competitors today, most notably the Apple Watch, the idea of gathering data on personal activity to help drive health and fitness has gained traction ever since that first Fitbit. With the graying of the population, the increasing cost of healthcare, and the need for us all to get healthy, the quantified self may be a way for us to manage our way to better health.

Runners up: Bitcoin, Chrome OS, USB 3.0, Uber founded, Minecraft, and Windows 7.

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Also: The 1970s | The 1980s | The 1990s | The 2000s | The 2010s