23 things younger than 21Digital
This year, 21Digital turns 23.
Admittedly, it’s not quite the landmark occasion that our 21st was. There’s no big coming-of-age moment to celebrate this time around, but another year in business is always worth raising a glass to – especially when you work in an industry that has changed quite as much as ours has.
We started 21Digital back in 2003, which doesn’t always feel that long ago until you start putting it into context. The digital world was already moving quickly, of course, but so much of what we now take for granted was still to come.
It was only when we started looking back at what has changed since 2003 that we realised quite how long we’ve been along for the ride. There are things we use every day that we simply assumed had been around forever, only to discover that we actually got here first. Some make perfect sense, some genuinely surprised us, and a few made us question whether 23 might actually be a bigger birthday than we thought.
So, rather than just sticking 23 candles on a cake and calling it a day (which we are still very much going to do), we decided to do some digging. What followed was a mixture of surprise, disbelief and the uncomfortable realisation that we might be older than we feel.
With that in mind, here are 23 things we somehow managed to beat into existence.
Facebook — 2004
When we started out in 2003, Facebook simply didn’t exist. No likes, no shares, no Marketplace, no endless scrolling and certainly no Facebook Ads. We’d already been in business for a whole year by the time Zuckerberg got started. Not that we’re keeping score or anything. Although, if we were, that’s one–nil to us.
Gmail — 2004
Yes, we’re older than Gmail. Google launched it with a whopping 1GB of free storage, which seemed almost ridiculous at the time. Today, that’s approximately three attachments from our design team.
YouTube — 2005
We’d already been around for two years before the first ever YouTube video was uploaded. That means we predate every tutorial, unboxing video, viral clip and inexplicably compelling video of someone pressure-washing a patio ever uploaded to the platform.
Google Maps — 2005
For our first two years in business, there was no Google Maps to get us to client meetings. You looked up the address beforehand, printed some directions and hoped for the best. Or you called it ‘taking the scenic route’ when you were inevitably late after a wrong turn. Somehow, we made it.
Google Analytics — 2005
Google Analytics didn’t arrive until we were two years into business, although its predecessor, Urchin, was already doing the number crunching – and yes, we’re old enough to remember actually using it. Google bought Urchin in 2005 and turned it into Google Analytics, although anyone who remembers what it looked like back then will know it was a very different beast to the platform we use today.
Twitter — 2006
We’ve been around long enough to remember Twitter before X, Twitter when it was Twitter and, apparently, the internet before Twitter existed at all. It arrived three years after we did and eventually convinced the world that even 140 characters was sometimes too many.
Spotify — 2006
When we started, playlists were something you painstakingly put together yourself, usually involving CDs, MP3s and far more effort than pressing “shuffle”. Spotify arrived three years later and eventually made owning an enormous CD collection considerably less impressive.
The iPhone — 2007
This is one that really puts our age into perspective. By the time Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone, we’d already been building websites for four years. We ran a digital agency in a world where nobody had ever pinched a screen to zoom – thats an interesting one to think about!
Google Street View — 2007
There was once a time when you couldn’t type in an address and immediately see exactly what the building looked like. Street View arrived four years after us and, naturally, we all immediately used this extraordinary technology to look at our own houses.
The App Store — 2008
The original iPhone actually launched without the App Store. That followed a year later, when we were already five years into business. So when we started, there literally wasn’t “an app for that”. There weren’t apps for much of anything back in ye olde times.
Google Chrome — 2008
Chrome feels like it’s been part of the internet forever, but we’d already been going for five years when Google launched it. There’s a decent chance you’re reading this very blog in a browser considerably younger than the agency that built the website… how’s that for a mind twister!
WhatsApp — 2009
We were six years old before WhatsApp arrived. Before blue ticks, voice notes and 47 group chats you’re too polite to leave, there was the humble SMS — and every single one of them cost 10p. Younger readers may need a moment to process that.
The iPad — 2010
Seven years into our journey, Apple decided one screen in everyone’s pocket wasn’t enough and gave us another one to think about. The iPad arrived in 2010 and quickly became another device websites needed to look great on. Thanks, Apple.
Instagram — 2010
We’d already been around for seven years when Instagram launched. There was once a world without filters, Stories, Reels, influencers or endless photos of food. How any of us decided what to have for tea, we’ll never know.
Reddit — 2005
Reddit arrived two years after we did, giving the internet somewhere to discuss absolutely everything in extraordinary detail. Twenty years later, whatever obscure question you type into Google, there’s a reassuringly good chance somebody on Reddit asked it eight years ago.
The humble # becoming a hashtag — 2007
The hash symbol had been sitting quietly on keyboards for years before someone suggested using it to group conversations on Twitter in 2007. Suddenly, # was everywhere. Campaigns, TV shows, weddings, adverts, Instagram captions – we even started saying “hashtag” out loud. What a time to be alive.
4G arriving in the UK — 2012
This one might be the hardest to believe. We ran a digital agency for nearly a decade before anyone in Britain had 4G. By the time fast mobile internet finally arrived here, we were already nine years old. Try remembering the last time your phone dropped to 3G and imagine running a business on it.
The word “Selfie” — 2013
People had been taking photos of themselves long before 2013, of course, but that was the year “selfie” became Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year. We were already ten. Before that, apparently we were all just taking slightly awkward photos of ourselves at arm’s length without knowing what to call them.
The smoking ban arriving in English pubs — 2007
Here’s one that has absolutely nothing to do with digital but makes 2003 feel like another century. When we started, smoking inside pubs was still completely normal. The ban didn’t arrive in England until four years later. Anyone who remembers coming home from the pub and immediately putting everything they were wearing in the wash will understand.
Coca-Cola Zero — 2005
A firm favourite here at 21HQ, Coca-Cola Zero didn’t actually launch until 2005, making it two years younger than us. It’s such a permanent fixture in the office these days that we’re starting to wonder whether we should put it on the payroll.
Sat-navs as we know them — 2004
To be clear, we’re not claiming to be older than sat-nav altogether. We’re 23, not ancient. The TomTom GO arrived a year after we did, helping turn sat-nav from specialist tech into the little box that would soon be stuck to windscreens everywhere, repeatedly telling us to “turn around when possible”. Before that, getting somewhere unfamiliar still involved a fair amount of printed directions, road maps and misplaced confidence from whoever was sitting in the passenger seat.
Pluto being demoted to dwarf planet — 2006
When we started 21Digital, Pluto was still a fully fledged ninth planet. Three years later, astronomers changed the definition of a planet and poor Pluto was demoted to dwarf planet status. We’ve been in business long enough to see an actual planet lose its job #JusticeForPluto
The Killers releasing Mr Brightside — 2004
And finally, perhaps the most upsetting fact on this entire list. Mr Brightside was released after we started. Released in 2004, Mr Brightside has somehow become as much a British tradition as complaining about the weather and putting the kettle on. Give it another few years and we’ll probably get a bank holiday for it.
And a few very honourable mentions…
Of course, we couldn’t leave it there without giving a few very honourable mentions to some of the industry changes that, yes, we’re also older than.
Drum roll, please… We were already 13 when Instagram Stories arrived in 2016, 18 when Facebook became Meta in 2021, and 20 when GA4 officially replaced Universal Analytics as Google’s standard analytics platform in 2023. Then came ChatGPT Search in 2024, followed by Google’s AI Mode in 2025 – both arriving when we were already well into our twenties.
We’ve lived and worked through some pretty huge shifts in digital over the years, and if the pace of the last few is anything to go by, we’re going to need a bigger list for our 24th.
Older, wiser and still learning
Looking back, it’s hard to believe just how much has changed since we first started in 2003. We’ve watched the internet move from the family computer to something we carry around in our pockets, seen entirely new platforms and industries appear, and adapted to countless changes in the way people search, shop, communicate and do business online.
We’ve grown up as an agency alongside the modern digital age, learning as it evolved and changing with it – although finding out we predate Google Analytics does make us wonder how we ever knew what was going on.
Twenty-three years later, that constant change is still one of the things we love most about what we do. The tools are different, the technology is almost unrecognisable, and thankfully we no longer need to print directions before setting off to a client meeting, but the excitement of figuring out what’s next has never really gone away.
We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who has been part of the journey so far – our team, our clients, our partners and everyone who has trusted and supported us along the way.
Here’s to 23 years of 21Digital, and to whatever comes next. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’ve got 23 candles to light, a Coke Zero to crack open and Mr Brightside to put on.
Over two decades of change has taught us a thing or two about making digital work for businesses, and we’ve got plenty of client success stories to show for it. With expertise across web design and development, SEO, AEO, Google Ads, social media marketing and email marketing, we can help your business keep moving, adapting and growing as the digital world changes around it.
Get in touch with us today and let’s make sure your business stands the test of time too!
