The demo by Douglas Engelbart and the team at SRI was important and pivotal in history because of the presentation of new technologies. In 1968, at a computer conference, Engelbart introduced new technologies like the computer mouse, email, videoconferencing, and hypertext. He showed various brand new technologies never seen before. Not only were these technologies new but the way of showing them and presenting how they work and what they do were a key factor in the importance of this demo. This was definitely much ahead of its time as video conferencing and email are new ways of connecting. This was very exciting and important at the time because it paved ways for new ways of interconnectivity through technology.
The fact that this was done so far in the past, predicting trends and technology we hold for granted now is extremely interesting. It is hard to imagine a time where such technologies did not exist and that is why Engelbart blew the world away with this demo. I believe the most influential of all was the idea of collaboration and real time collaboration on a computer. Even now this is a concept that has excelled our endeavors in technology and continues to aid in designing cross platforms and with people around the world.
Another important element of this demo was the way it was presented. The way it was done was a live performance with different media, similar to how current media advertises and showcases products now. This was the first time anything like this had been shown and presented in such a way. It definitely inspired technology design to take a different form and
Sources
Salamanca, Claudia. The Mother of All Demos. 12 Dec. 2009. University of California, Berkeley.