A brief history of the Internet and Web browsers

The Internet started off in the 1960’s and was known as ARPANET. ARPANET stands for Advanced Research Projects Agency Network. After a great deal of development ARPANET was finally brought on line in 1969 (Howe, 2012). The ARPANET was designed to have a communication network if other avenues were to fail. January 1, 1983, is the official birthday of the “Internet.” A new communications protocol known as the Transfer Control Protocol/Internetwork Protocol (TCP/IP) had been established that allowed computers on different networks to communicate with each other (University System of Georgia, n.d.). Because of this advancement, the Internet became easier to use and more people, particularly universities, began to implement it. In 1991 the Internet changed once again. It was in this year that a man named Tim Berners-Lee introduced the World Wide Web. The World Wide Web was more than just a way to send information from one place to another, it was itself a web of information that could be accessed by anyone (History.com staff, 2010). Since 1991, the Internet has continued to grow and improve. The first cross platform, widely used web browser was released in February of 1993 (Stewart, n.d.). It was called Mosaic. Since the release of Mosaic, web browsers such as Netscape, Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari, Firefox, and Chrome have evolved and been created. According to Internet Live Stats (2014), today, around forty percent of the world’s population has an Internet connection.

For more in depth explanation of the history of the internet you can visit www.internetsociety.org and click on the internet tab.

References:

History.com staff. (2010). The Invention of the Internet. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/inventions/invention-of-the-internet

Howe, W. (2012). A Brief History of the Internet. Retrieved from http://www.walthowe.com/navnet/history.html

Internet Live Stats. (2014). Internet users. Retrieved from http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users/

Stewart, W. (n.d.). Web Browser History. Retrieved from http://www.livinginternet.com/w/wi_browse.htm

University System of Georgia. (n.d.). A Brief History of the Internet. Retrieved from http://www.usg.edu/galileo/skills/unit07/internet07_02.phtml

[Untitled example of Internet]. Retrieved December 18, 2014 from http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3710/1779/1600/internet_art_010204.jpg

Methods of communication

Communication is the reason the Internet was created. Today, millions of people utilize the methods of communication that are available on the Internet, and in return, have the ability to reach an untold number of people in today’s society. There are many different ways that this communication can be accomplished.

Some of the more commonly used means of communication via the Internet today are: social networks, email, wikis and blogs, podcasts and webcasts, and streaming media.

Social networking is one of the most popular methods of communicating on the Internet. A social network is a location on the Internet that brings people together to interact socially, make new friends, and share ideas (Computer Hope, 2014). Some examples of social networking sites are Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

Email is an electronic communication sent over the Internet. It can be thought of as mail that is sent and delivered by means of a computer. Its purpose can be for just about any reason. Friendly chats, reminders, invitations, and questions are just a few examples of how it can be utilized. Junk mail, or spam, is a problem that people have with email (Tschabitscher, 2014). Spam can clog email servers and contain harmful viruses that can corrupt the system of a computer.

Wikis and blogs are ways to quickly share information on a site, and they are easier to update than a traditional website (Office Online, n.d.). Wikis are used for the purpose of sharing information and expansion of that information by other authors. So, as opposed to blogs, wikis are designed to have numerous authors that share information regarding a specific topic. Blogs, on the other hand, are usually created by a single author and readers can add comments about the authors post (The University of Adelaide, 2014). Some examples of blog sites are Uncrate and BlogHer. A couple of examples of wikis are Wikipedia and Wikimedia.

Viewing or listening to media files over the Internet can be fun and educational. These files can usually be accessed in one of two ways: a podcast or a webcast. Podcasts are media files that can be downloaded over the internet and watched at a later time. They do not utilize streaming technology. Webcasts, on the other hand, are media files that are distributed over the Internet by the use of streaming media (Infotechusa, n.d.). An example of a podcast is iTunes U. ITunes U is a collection of different lectures from universities that can be subscribed to and listened to at a later time. A live news footage would be an example of a webcast.

Streaming media is data transmitted over a computer network that is available for immediate playback rather than having to wait for the file to download (Mitchell, n.d.). For example, most news channels have pre-recorded videos or live feed that can be watched using streaming technology. One of the best examples for a website that contains streaming media is YouTube.

References:

Altmann, G. (n.d.). Ball [online image]. Retrieved December 21, 2014 from http://pixabay.com/get/c550670e6a8bc375e26c/1419199330/ball-142738_1280.jpg?direct

Computer Hope. (2014). Social Network. Retrieved from http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/s/socinetw.htm

Infotechusa. (n.d.). What is Podcasting? What is Webcast? What is RSS Feed? [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://socialnetworkinglab.com/2009/04/21/podcast-webcast/

Mitchell, B. (n.d.). What Is Streaming Video (Media)? Retrieved from http://compnetworking.about.com/od/consumerelectronicsnetworks/f/streaming-video.htm

Office Online. (n.d.). Use blogs or wikis to share information. Retrieved from https://support.office.com/en-nz/article/Use-blogs-or-wikis-to-share-information-c898576f-aa30-46dd-a6f4-7e1ecae304bb

Tschabitscher, H. (2014). What Email is and How It Works. Retrieved from http://email.about.com/cs/beginningemail/a/email_basics_2.htm

The University of Adelaide. (2014). Differences between Discussion Boards, Blogs and Wikis. Retrieved from http://www.adelaide.edu.au/myuni/staff/resources/tutorials/content/Differences_between_Discussion_Boards__Blogs_and_Wikis.html

E-commerce and M-commerce

The Internet has evolved in many ways since its creation. Communication was its main purpose, but it has grown to include the ability to buy and sell just about anything online. Personal or business transactions that involve the transfer of information across the Internet is called electronic commerce or e-commerce (Network Solutions, n.d.). Usually this type of transaction occurs from a desktop computer. In recent years e-commerce has grown to include transactions being made from portable devices, such as smartphones or tablets (Bull, 2014). When transactions occur in this fashion they are known as mobile commerce or m-commerce. Because of the amount of people that own wireless devices, m-commerce is a growing trend. According to Bill Siwicki (2014), purchases that are made on phones and tablets will account for 27% of all online sales by 2018. That is a huge increase considering that as of 2013 m-commerce sales only comprised of 16% of all Internet transactions.

References:

Altmann, G. (n.d.). Online shop [Online image]. Retrieved December 21, 2014 from http://pixabay.com/get/607ca8054db8f2a67861/1419222589/shopping-cart-402756_1280.png?direct
Bull, D. (2014, February 28). What is mCommerce and what does it mean for your business? [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.sage.co.uk/blog/index.php/2014/02/what-is-mcommerce-and-what-does-it-mean-for-your-business/

Network Solutions. (n.d.). What is Ecommerce? Retrieved from http://www.networksolutions.com/education/what-is-ecommerce/

Siwicki, B. (2014). Mobile commerce is critical to Internet retailing’s future. Retrieved from https://www.internetretailer.com/2014/04/21/mobile-commerce-critical-internet-retailings-future