MCP: 8 Months to AI Infrastructure Standard
The Fastest Protocol Adoption in Tech History
⏱️ Recap: Part 1 showed us 30+ years of web security disasters
🔥 This Part: How MCP learned from those mistakes and changed everything
🔧 Coming Next: Part 3 reveals how to build context-aware systems the right way
Remember how HTTP took three decades to get basic security? Well, buckle up, because MCP is speedrunning that entire evolution.
I used to wonder how long it would take before people would “get it” - now I’m struggling to keep up!
Before MCP - The Context Crisis
Way back when I tried to show people that they could see images, updated in the last year, in moments - and for cheap, or even free, or buy something online - they said:
- “What’s a computer? Or what’s a modem?”
- “I already have CD-ROMs and floppies”
- “How would you even get pictures into a computer?”
- “Is that safe?” (hehe, see what I did there…)
Before MCP - The AI Context Crisis
- “Is that ‘AI’?” (eyes roll)
- “General disbelief”
- “OMG the security holes”
The ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’ - the ‘spark’ I needed to put this together. I blame a lack of context being provided, by me to him.
Quote from a genius musician/AI developer: “I wouldn’t use a ‘CMP’ (sic) server.”
Classic - we don’t know what we don’t know. One thing I’m pretty sure I know is that MCP is truly remarkable. I’ve never seen such adoption so quickly.
HTTP = Moore’s Law
MCP = Huang’s Law
⚡ The MCP Timeline: 8 Months to Everywhere ⚡
From Zero to AI Infrastructure Standard
🚀 November 2024 - Launch
The Beginning
- Anthropic announces & open-sources MCP
- Protocol revision 2024-11-05
- Described as ‘USB-C of AI apps’
- Pre-built servers: Google Drive, Slack, GitHub, Git, Postgres, Puppeteer
- Early adopters: Block, Apollo
- Dev tools join: Zed, Replit, Codeium, Sourcegraph
📈 Early 2025 - Rapid Growth
Momentum Building
- MCP takes center stage
- Teams realize data connection challenges
- Adoption accelerates rapidly
- Community contributions grow
🎯 February 2025 - Ecosystem Milestone
First Thousand
- Over 1,000 open-source connectors
- Rapid community expansion
- Anthropic refines specs & docs
🔥 March 2025 - Major Adoption
OpenAI Joins the Party
- OpenAI officially adopts MCP
- ChatGPT desktop app integration
- OpenAI Agents SDK & Responses API
- Protocol revision 2025-03-26
- Enhanced specifications
🌐 April 2025 - Expansion & Security
Google DeepMind Aboard
- Google DeepMind joins
- Demis Hassabis: ‘standard for AI agentic era’
- Gemini models to support MCP
- Security researchers identify issues:
- Prompt injection vulnerabilities
- Tool permission concerns
- Lookalike tool risks
📚 May 2025 - Growth & Education
Five Thousand Strong
- 5,000+ active MCP servers
- Glama directory milestone
- DeepLearning.AI launches course
- ‘Build Rich-Context AI Apps’
- Taught by Elie Schoppik
🏢 May-June 2025 - Enterprise Ready
Microsoft Goes All In
- Microsoft Copilot Studio GA
- New features:
- Tool listing
- Streamable transport
- Enhanced tracing
- Quality improvements
🚀 Current Status - June 2025
Mature Ecosystem
- Multiple SDKs: Python, TypeScript, Java, Kotlin, C#
- Wide industry adoption
- Active open-source community
- Future Development:
- Agent graphs
- Interactive workflows
- Additional modalities
- MCP Registry for discovery
🌟 Future
MCP TAKES OVER!
- Secure, Context everywhere
- MCP Server begets an MCP server that begets a cluster of MCP Servers and Clients
- The cluster takes over the world and everyone lives happily ever after
🚀 Holy shit, you made it to the punchline! 🚀
You just witnessed the fastest protocol adoption in tech history.
(Your scrolling speed: ~5 minutes. MCP adoption speed: Ludicrous.)
The Money Shot
Look at that timeline again. Eight. Months. That’s it.
💬 “HTTP took three decades to figure out basic security. MCP went from ‘hey, here’s an idea’ to ‘Google, OpenAI, and Microsoft are all in’ faster than it took SSL to get its first bug fix.”
Nobody has any idea how many MCP Servers and Clients there are. It’s like trying to count rabbits - by the time you’re done, they’ve multiplied. It turns out Clients can be Servers and vice versa. Stay tuned for Part 3… It’s like your superpowers got superpowers.
Don’t Be the Dullest Tool in the Shed
So why did MCP spread like wildfire while HTTP took decades to get basic auth working? Two words: proper context.
See, MCP servers are like tools in a shed. A hammer’s great for nails, useless for screws. A saw cuts wood, not bolts. Each tool has its purpose, but only when you know when and how to use it. The beauty of MCP is that it lets tools explain themselves - what they do, what they need, what they’re good for.
Early 2024, when I was really getting into AI development (okay, getting good at copy paste), I was constantly thinking/saying, it’s all about “Context”. I spent quite a lot of time trying to figure out how to give models context: my code, documents, pictures from a home inspection, terraform schema, repositories, public legal documents…
Here’s the thing: MCP solved this. Instead of me shoving random data at an AI and hoping it figures it out, MCP servers can say “Hey, I handle database queries” or “I’m good with weather data” or “I analyze code repositories.” They come with context built-in.
Take my site idea, MCP Shed - tools are rated by “sharpness”. Get it? Sharp tools? But without knowing it’s a play on “not the sharpest tool in the shed,” the whole concept falls flat. That’s context.
What do AI and jokes have in common?
They’re both way better with context.
When you tell a joke and end up saying “You had to be there” - lack of context.
When something “goes right over someone’s head” - lack of context.
When SSL 1.0 gets broken by an edge case nobody thought about - lack of context.
The joke is a waste of time! It wastes your time, and your poor audience’s time.
It’s no different with LLMs/AI/MCP/NewHotness… Without context, it wastes human time and those currently limited computing/energy resources. But WITH context? That’s why MCP is spreading faster than gossip in a small town. Finally, AI tools can actually tell you what they’re for.
Mutual Intelligence in Action
Here’s what separates MCP from everything that came before: Mutual Intelligence.
Instead of dumb pipes moving data around, you get smart connectors that understand:
- What they do (database queries, weather data, code analysis)
- When to use them (development mode vs production)
- How they fit together (this output feeds that input)
- What they need from you (structured questions, not password fishing)
This isn’t just better tooling - it’s a fundamental shift from “figure it out yourself” to “let me help you understand what’s possible.”
The Learning Curve Collapse
Remember the Part 1 disasters? Here’s how MCP learned from 30 years of mistakes:
SSL Lesson: “Don’t patch, rebuild”
MCP Response: Built from scratch with modern security principles
Certificate Authority Lesson: “Don’t create artificial scarcity”
MCP Response: Open source, free, anyone can build connectors
Heartbleed Lesson: “One implementation to rule them all = single point of failure”
MCP Response: Multiple SDKs, diverse implementations
BEAST/POODLE Lesson: “Backward compatibility kills security”
MCP Response: Clean protocol, no legacy baggage
Let’s Encrypt Lesson: “Make the right thing the easy thing”
MCP Response: Dead simple to implement, rich ecosystem
The Network Effect Explosion
Here’s the real genius: MCP didn’t just solve the technical problems - it solved the adoption problems.
Traditional Protocol Adoption:
- Spec committee argues for years
- First implementation is academic
- Second implementation breaks compatibility
- Enterprise adoption takes decades
- Security bolted on as afterthought
MCP Adoption:
- Anthropic ships working implementation
- Clear, simple protocol
- Immediate value for developers
- Security designed in from day one
- Network effects go exponential
When OpenAI adopted MCP in March, it wasn’t just validation - it was gasoline on the fire. Suddenly every AI company needed MCP compatibility or they’d be left behind.
When Google DeepMind joined in April, it became the industry standard.
When Microsoft went enterprise-ready in May, it became infrastructure.
Use Context Powers Wisely
Beware of “too much context” though.
That friend who asks about “that time you did that thing, you know, that thing you did thousands of times with them, you know, that exact time?”
The guy on your way out of the office who talks for way too long, sometimes you just can’t get away (Claude cancel button, I’m talking to you!).
Context is powerful, but like any power tool, you need to know when NOT to use it.
The Real Revolution
MCP isn’t just faster adoption - it’s better adoption.
While HTTP spent 30 years accumulating technical debt, MCP learned from those mistakes. While SSL/TLS patched holes for decades, MCP built security in from the start. While certificate authorities created artificial scarcity, MCP made the right thing the easy thing.
But most importantly: MCP made mutual intelligence possible.
For the first time, AI tools can explain themselves. They can tell you what they’re good for, what they need, and how they fit together. No more shoving random data at an AI and hoping for the best.
This is what happens when protocols are designed for intelligence, not just data transport.
The Cliffhanger for Part 3
So we’ve seen how MCP learned from 30 years of web security disasters and speedran protocol adoption in 8 months.
But here’s the question: How do YOU build context-aware systems that don’t repeat the mistakes of the past?
How do you craft MCP servers with the same care that Terry put into laying out his tools? How do you build something that earns trust progressively, handles edge cases gracefully, and actually helps people instead of creating more cognitive load?
Part 3 reveals: The craftsmanship principles, advanced MCP features (elicitation, composability), security considerations, and why building “Terry-level” mutual intelligence matters for the future of AI.
Spoiler: It’s not just about the code - it’s about the care.
📢 Mind blown by the 8-month revolution?
Share Part 2 with that friend who thinks AI adoption is slow.
(Then show them what craftsmanship looks like in Part 3)
🎉 ACHIEVEMENT: PROTOCOL SPEEDRUNNER 🎉
You just witnessed history being made in real-time.
Ready to build something that lasts? Part 3 awaits…