Think about how much the Internet Explorer brand has devolved. Think about what Internet Explorer meant to you 15 years ago, during the mid 90s, when you first began surveying the vast terrain of the internet, excavating treasures such as blinking gifs or scrolling marquees. Back then, the Internet was a giant landfill of random content—scattered, sporadic, and full of wonderful discoveries—and the term Internet Explorer actually elicited the notion of exploration.
Now, exploration on the internet is passé. There is simply too much content on the web that exploration doesn’t make sense; it would simply be an aimless odyssey. You don’t just go out there and explore the world wide web. Why? Because it is the WORLD WIDE WEB. There is simply too much noise and clutter to purposefully have a meaningful experience. We no longer live in the world of digital exploration. With the connections we form through social networks and with social sharing becoming embedded into browsing experiences, we’ve transitioned into an age of curated discovery, in which connections, interests, and behaviors act as content filters.
It’s funny to reflect upon how much my personal perception of Internet Explorer has changed in the past decade. What once was the interface through which I, in the truest sense of the word, explored the world wide web now acts as a reminder of how primitive and archaic the web experience used to be. I can’t remember the last time I used Internet Explorer. I do, however, know for sure that I’ll never use it again in the future, and that simply shows me how indefinite and indeterminate a brand’s perceptions are.
