Like many people I suppose, I can easily identify the day I gained access to the Information Superhighway, as it was commonly known back then - Monday, 13th May, 1996. This was my first day at the American investment firm where I worked until 2001.

I'd been exposed to the Internet only once prior to this date. A few months earlier, I'd travelled across London to Olympia, where my brother was taking part in a technology exhibition, and had tinkered with an Internet-connected PC at one of the stands there. I remember typing the word 'Rush' into a search engine, and browsing through what I think must have been a few pages of mailing list archives dedicated to the Canadian group which has been my "official" favourite band since I was 16.

The Internet is a common, almost mundane household phenomenon now that broadband is cheap, powerful PCs can be had for £300 and every supermarket chain has a website. But back then it held a certain esoteric fascination and mystique, like amateur radio. It was primarily the domain of boffins and nerds, but it was just starting to make an impression in the wider world - occasionally a BBC television programme would display an email address for correspondence in the credits; sometimes advertising posters would feature a website URL in small print. It all seemed very enticing and intriguing.

As I sat at my new desk that morning, I had absolutely no idea that I was about to enter this exciting, brave new cyber-world. But when I logged into my computer for the first time, I was surprised to see a web browser called Netscape appear. At first I assumed that it was intended for Intranet access, but a colleague explained, matter-of-factly, that every desk in the firm had access to the World Wide Web, and that using it for personal email and occasional browsing would be no problem. I was stunned.

Since then, I've used the Internet for online shopping, booking concert tickets, checking rail times and so on like everyone else - but it's probably fair to say that I've spent most of my online time arguing with people on messageboards and mailing lists - mostly about music, politics, or the "God" myth - in a superior and condescending fashion. I'm not proud.