I think there is an epochal event that defines the digital world, the world that is growing up next to the Real World, something more specific than “all things digital,” although that is useful. I think it is the invention of the World Wide Web.

Just as the World Wide Web was built on the back of the internet, so the digital world is built on the back of the World Wide Web.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989 (he says so himself in his brief bio at the World Wide Web Consortium and that’s good enough for me). So we can say that the digital world began on January 1st 1989 (taking the whole year, just for safety’s sake). Thus:

the digital world - the pure world built of ones and zeroes, the building blocks of the digital universe – has as its beginning date January 1, 1989.

So that’s the definition interspheres thecloudandme will keep in mind.

By-the-by – Digital World, which is the Web definition Google finds first is, “a fictional universe featured in the Digimon media franchise.” which is very cool.

amended April 8 2009 to bring out difference between “all things digital” and “the digital world.” Corrected typos.

updated 10/03/19, added “the world that is growing up next to the Real World” and changed blog name to new one.