More than a few times over the past year, in the midst of going down an Internet rabbit hole, I’ve wondered what my dad would make of all this. A world of information at my fingertips; searches that beget endless questions. He still had dial-up when he died. The pixelated outer space sound would ping through his small condo while he would wait to check the messages in his AOL account.

Curiosity is a natural state for kids, and I was no exception. But the thing about growing up before the Internet is that the information had to come from somewhere other than a Google search. As a child, I would ask my dad questions to which he would promptly respond, “Why don’t we look it up?” Our old set of encyclopedias and thick brown dictionary sometimes offered answers.

My father was born in Ireland during the Great Depression and was sent away from home before his sixteenth birthday. It was common in those days to send older sons or daughters to distant orders within the Catholic Church; it meant fewer mouths to feed. By the time he came to the U.S., my father had been to some of the poorest parts of the world in his work as a monk and nurse.

It would have made sense for him to be cynical, but he never was. He had an optimism about the world, a sense of wonder. So when I imagine conversations with my dad about today’s Internet, when I think about showing him Google, explaining social media, discussing content generation, I’m pretty confident his reaction would be like that of a kid’s in a candy shop. And 2015 had some pretty sweet developments.

New Media

Social media has revolutionized the world. From interpersonal relationships to industry to politics, it provides a platform for people to access communities, build connections, create original content and share with a broad audience. And its influence has caused a sea change in the marketing world. Rather than delivering ads to passive masses, brands have let go of the reins and are inviting users to create authentic content.

Instagrammable moments, themed videos and interactive feedback platforms have replaced traditional ad campaigns. This move values the customer, invites active participation, and preserves a vital element of the brand-consumer relationship. In an era when people have become wary of mass advertising, the shift helps brands maintain consumer trust.

Google Does More Good

Ever at the forefront of innovation, Google made several big strides this year. A deal between Google and Twitter resulted in tweets being visible in Google’s search results the instant they are posted. Prior to this agreement, Google had to crawl Twitter for information. This allegiance amplifies the power of an individual tweet, increases traffic to Twitter and presents users with an even greater opportunity to access the world in real time. It also underscores the growing allegiance between SEO content and social media.

Google Panda first emerged in 2011. Designed to weed out clickbait, the ranking algorithm evaluates web pages and lowers the rank of sites with low-quality content. Sites with poor content are penalized in search engine results, while sites with rich, thoughtful content rise to the top. In July, Google Panda began the roll-out of its first update in two years. To maintain traffic and revenue, websites must ensure their content is engaging. Some of these developments translate into more work for web developers, but the evolution of online content is a welcome one that enhances the user experience.

My father gave me my first computer. He sent me my first emails, a daily correspondence that we maintained through the rest of his life. He thrilled at connecting with loved ones half a world away through simple keystrokes. I’m grateful to have inherited his enthusiasm, his belief in the good of things to come. The future’s looking pretty bright.

Heather Candon is a writer living in New York.