If you load up the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) today, you’ll see a new logo commemorating its 19th birthday. Yes, that’s really old for the Internet. Google, by comparison, is 11. Meanwhile, Yahoo is 14. IMDb is so old in fact, that is pre-dates the first web browsers. How?
Founder Col Needham explains the history a bit in a birthday message today. IMDb was born on October 17, 1990 as a series of Unix shell scripts to let users search the USENET group, rec.arts.movies. It wasn’t called IMDb yet (that came four years later), but it was the beginning of being able to search for movie information on the Internet.
Once the web as we now know it sprung up around the IMDb, the site became hugely popular — it’s probably the first website that I remember being addicted to when I was young. The site became so popular that its founders realized they would have to start charging visitors if they wanted to keep it up (remember, this was the mid 1990s, Internet advertising was much, much smaller than it is today). But in 1998, Amazon came along to buy the site, enabling it to stay free for users. Though they would later add IMDb Pro, a subscription-based section with more data on movies.
They’ve also added new functionality to the site over the years. This includes the ability to play video content (which is ho-hum), and the addition of the excellent movie box office tracking site, Box Office Mojo.
IMDb says it now gets 57 million people coming to its site each month. I still can’t believe that it’s nearly as old as I am.
Quite interesting.
You’re only 19!?
Probably the most oft viewed website at nerdy parties where drinking and movie trivia besting converge.
probably? definitely.
Game. Set. Match.
Well played sir… well played.
haha been there for sure.
I had no idea IMDB was so old! But it’s definitely a staple for me and everyone I know.
Cool that an oldschool site has survived and flourished like that!
Is that Natalie Portman ?
where?
Am I the only one that doesn’t find IMBDB terribly useful anymore? I’ve found Wikipedia to be much more substantive, personally, if not as structured.
arent all of the wikipedia articles direct copies from imdb?
Yes, if you look all the way down at the bottom of Wikipedia entries, it lists all the sources. Almost all movie related information has to be quoted from a source in order to not be deleted from Wikipedia. Thus, imdb.com is that source.
“I still can’t believe that it’s nearly as old as I am.”
Really? 19? Hmmmm
LOL
Okay, I’m not that young. I should have said, I can’t believe IMDb is older than Bru is!
no worries — that means you’re still ten years older than the average TC reader
Heh, yeah, I was thinking the same thing.
I loves me some IMDb, but I hope someday they shed the web .95 beta vibe. This article reminded me of IUMA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Underground_Music_Archive), too bad it didn’t soldier on like IMDb.
You could also follow the team at IMDb on twitter – @imdb
All I can say is CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
Bet they aren’t reading this humble post.
I’ve never found the site that interesting. I mean obviously I’ve used it, but it’s always felt 19 years old. It’s like it missed the whole web 2.0 thing.
Thank god it did.
And thank god for that.
Awesome website for the coverage, but I agree that they could do with a little Web 2.0 style revamping.
I miss the days of Archie and Veronica and Gopher.
Hi MG-
Does anyone know if any sites who have gain any traction competing against IMDB?
Warmest,
JB.
Well, RottenTomatoes is not directly a competitor, but it was the only one I could think of:
http://siteanalytics.compete.com/imdb.com+rottentomatoes.com/?metric=uv&months=12
Another JB.
+1 on the site being outdated. I find nearly any google search and/or wikipedia much more useful.
I prefer Yahoo Movies myself. Best movie site out there.
Old but useful!
Can’t wait till Google turns 18.
Yeah.. the things I’d to do Google once they turn legal.. Grrrr….
I had always been wondering who gathers all the information appearing on IMDb — it must have been a huge undertaking at the beginning.
Easy to imagine there was nothing on the internet 19 years ago. Of course, there was a ton of information, we just used different tools to access and play with it. Everything changes, everything stays the same.
well IMDB clocked up its 19th years
but what about its API?
when are they gonna decide to give an API of their Data base?
Of course there’re must be some reasons why they haven’t done so far but I was pondering why they haven’t designed an API so far for a long
apparently imdb has a message board…or more than one which is wildly popular since i see it all the freaking time when i’m reading comments on gossip sites.
i like how imdb and mg are around the same age.
To think that a website is older than me..hmm
Long life to IMDB! It’s definitely the best resource online, especially for their forums.
Domain was registered only in 1996 it seems.
wow! amazing.
The last sentence is supposed to make us laugh, right?
Happy Bday IMDB. Nineteen is a noble age especially when it preceded the web browser. One of the sites that it is unimaginable to live without.
No list of IMDb’s functionality would be complete without mentioning their awesome support for pop-under ads! Thanks IMDb!
i wish i was 19
If I remember correctly rec.arts.movies was a result of a collection of FidoNet echomail messages from the bbs’s, but I could be wrong.
CDO/CLO’s were a great way to make money. Too bad we had loser schmucks that ruined it for everybody.