We're still in the first minutes of the first day of the

When Scott Cook, builder of Intuit and pioneer of the digital age, proclaimed, “We’re still in the first minutes of the first day of the Internet revolution,” he spoke with the fire of one who beheld not just the present, but the vast horizon of the future. His words were not casual—they were a reminder that what we see as mighty and complete is but the faint dawn of a greater day. The Internet, though already world-shaking, is still in its infancy, and the revolutions it will bring have scarcely begun.

The meaning of his words lies in perspective. To the impatient eye, the rise of the Internet in the 1990s and 2000s seemed like the very climax of human progress. Emails flew faster than letters, commerce bloomed online, and knowledge was unleashed in floods beyond imagining. Yet Cook reminded us that these marvels were but the first minutes—the early tremors of a quake that will echo through centuries. Just as the invention of the printing press was not fully understood in Gutenberg’s lifetime, so too the Internet’s power will unfold across generations, shaping civilization in ways even its architects cannot foresee.

History offers us a mirror in the story of the Industrial Revolution. When the first steam engines roared to life, many believed they had already reached the height of innovation. Yet those first clumsy machines were only the beginning. Over decades, the steam engine gave way to railroads, factories, and ships that circled the globe. Nations were reshaped, empires rose and fell, and humanity itself was transformed. Cook’s quote echoes this truth: what seems like triumph today is only the first dawn of deeper change.

Already we see glimpses of what he foresaw. The early Internet gave us web pages, email, and search. But now, the world trembles under the rise of social networks, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and blockchain—creations undreamt of in the earliest days of dial-up connections. And yet, even these, too, may be only shadows of what is to come. To say we are in the first day is to remind us that the chapters ahead are unwritten, and the story of this revolution has scarcely begun.

There is also a note of humility in Cook’s words. They remind us that no matter how advanced our tools may seem, we must see ourselves as early travelers, not final conquerors. The future will look back upon our age as primitive, just as we look back upon the scribes who labored by candlelight or the blacksmiths who hammered iron by hand. To believe the Internet has reached its final form is folly; to recognize its infancy is wisdom.

O seekers of truth, the lesson is this: do not grow complacent. Do not imagine that the great works of yesterday are sufficient for tomorrow. If we are in the first minutes, then the duty of our generation is to prepare, to build, to dream boldly. Just as the builders of railroads laid tracks that carried future empires, so must we lay the foundations of the digital world with foresight, justice, and vision.

Therefore, let Cook’s words stir your spirit: “We’re still in the first minutes of the first day of the Internet revolution.” Live as pioneers, not settlers. See the tools of today not as finished temples, but as scaffolding for what is yet to rise. Act not with complacency, but with imagination, responsibility, and courage. For the Internet is not yet fully born, and its destiny rests in the hands of those who recognize the dawn and dare to shape the day.