Brief History of the Internet and Browsers
The mysterious beginnings of the Internet go back to the late 1950’s. It began around the time electronic computers came into play. In the 1960’s, the Department of Defense had a hand in expanding the operations of the Internet. It was first called the ARPANET. The term Internet did not come into being until the late 80’s. Another term that is used interchangeably with the internet is the World Wide Web. The World Wide Web is a place where documents and sites can be stored on the Internet. Those sites can be found with URLs. With the advent of the Internet and the World Wide Web came the web browsers. The web browsers helped the users “surf” the Internet’s uncharted waters. One of the first web browsers was Netscape. Now the most popular browsers of the information super highway are Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Opera.
Resource:
Picture retrieved from: https://www.behance.net/gallery/6310935/History-of-the-Internet-Infographic
http://mashable.com/category/browser/
Methods of Communication
With the advent of the Internet, Social Networking sites took off. The most popular sites are Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to name a few. These sites can be put into different categories. There are sites for social connections like Google+ along with Facebook and Twitter. One social networking site that is constantly expanding is YouTube. YouTube has millions of videos to be viewed from instructional to old television shows. The most popular professional social networking site is LinkedIn. Employers and potential employees make connections all around the world. Who knows the next job you get might be from a contact on LinkedIn. Social networking has definitely helped to make the world a smaller place. There are other social media sites that have to do with information, academics, hobbies and the list goes on and on.
Resource:
Picture retrieved from http://www.howmanyarethere.net/how-many-social-networking-sites-are-there-in-the-world/
http://socialnetworking.lovetoknow.com/What_Types_of_Social_Networks_Exist
Email is so much like U.S. Post Office mail accept it doesn’t take all day. Who sends a letter anymore? Email was invented by Ray Tomlinson who worked on the ARPANET in 1972. Email has really evolved since the late 80’s to now. It is pretty much used as the communication tool on the job. The most popular email applications are Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, and Outlook. Email is used for more than just sending notes back in forth. Companies have leveraged email to help consumers go paperless. E-bills coming through the email keep the outside mailbox clutter free.
Resource:
http://www.nethistory.info/History%20of%20the%20Internet/email.html
Picture from: http://harrisonamy.com/5-ways-to-not-turn-your-customers-cold-with-email/
Wikis and Blogs
Wikis and blogs are another source of communication on the Internet. Wikis are simply sites where the users can use collaboration to build the content on the site. The most popular Wiki that comes to mind is the Wikipedia. It is basically a living encyclopedia. There was a time when Encyclopedia Britannica and World Book were the king of reference materials. But once you got your set of encyclopedias, they basically stayed stagnated until the annual book came out the next year to add to your set. The Wikipedia can be updated immediately. No more waiting a year or more to get the update. Blogs are another form of communication. Anyone can write a blog about just about anything and post it on the Internet. There are a number of free blogging tools on the Internet to choose from. It kind of makes you look like an expert on the topic. People who stop by can read your blog, make comments or share it on other social networking sites.
Resource: http://www.cio.com/article/2438542/web-services/blogs-and-wikis-in-the-business-world-definition-and-solutions.html
Picture from: http://blogs.ubc.ca/dbang/2011/07/10/e-learning-toolkit-the-wonderful-world-of-weblogs-and-wikis/
Podcasts and Webcasts
Podcasts and webcasts are pretty fun for information, education and entertainment. Podcasts and webcasts can be listened to almost anywhere you can get on the internet. You can find examples of podcasts at sites like Stitcher and ESPN. A lot of cool shows are recorded on a podcast to be listened to at the listener’s leisure. College lectures can be put on podcast for students to go back and listen to. Webcasts can be done live or on demand also. Seminars can be done on by webcast on the job to reach more employees than just having a bunch of meetings to go over things. Adobe Connect is one application that can be used for webcasts.
Resource: http://socialnetworkinglab.com/2009/04/21/podcast-webcast/
Picture from: www.shutterstock.com
Streaming Media
The Internet keeps evolving with new things to play with. Streaming media has been around for a while now. It keeps getting better. The most popular forms of streaming media are music. With the advent of smartphones, streaming media applications like Pandora and Spotify allow the consumers to make playlist and listen to all types of music without having to go out and buy CDs to hear you favorite artists. Streaming media doesn’t stop there. Radio stations can stream their shows live across the Internet. Broadcasting companies can stream movies and TV shows across the Internet either live or on demand.
Resource: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/streaming-media
Picture from http://www.1mtb.com/top-streaming-internet-media-player-set-top-box-best-media-streaming-box/
E-commerce and m-commerce
Finally, the Internet has revolutionized commerce. Online shopping is big. No more fighting the Christmas crowds on Black Friday or any other day. The Internet allows one to shop from the comfort of their own home. And, to top that off, you can shop 24-7. Most stores have their own websites where consumers can buy what they need even if it is not in the store. One of the biggest online retailers is Amazon. Amazon is like hundreds of different stores rolled into one. Another benefit to commerce that the Internet has brought is online banking and bill pay. The Internet has really cut in the U.S. Post Offices’s business. You can view your account information, send money, pay bills and even deposit checks online or through your mobile technology.
Resource: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-e-Commerce-and-mobile-commerce
Picture from: https://internetstyle.wordpress.com/
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