An Overview

Com 125 has led me to explore and discover more about lots of things that many of us take for granted.

From the difference between the Web and the Internet, which I never thought of looking at as two separate things to the origin of Internet and how it was initially developed for military purposes. The course took me through the journey of how the Web and the Internet evolved into something we find extremely difficult to live without now. It would probably be easy for most of us to recall web 1.0 with its shopping carts and one-directional content, while appreciating how hyperlinks made life so much easier by offering us so many connections to the things we may be interested in.

Then came Web 2.0, which gave everyone a voice. It changed the way people live by giving us new positions and roles to play. None of us were just consumers anymore. We were producers of our own content. We had the power, as prosumers to reach out to the rest of the world without geographical boundaries. There was open accessibility and anyone could join a community, or even be a part of several different online communities. People started blogging and posting their thoughts about various issues online. People shared discussions, new perspectives and picked up new methods to learn. Web 2.0 was interactive and allowed people to gain access to the minds of others, to broaden their horizons and share knowledge and experiences within areas of interest.

With the development of the habit for online interaction, social media and social networking sites also gained popularity at an exponential rate. More recently, the widespread use of mobile devices gave rise to real-time content driven sites such as twitter and Instagram. Social media and social networking sites also became a great way for business owners to reach out to their target audience. Instead of sending emails, now businesses notify interested customers about events, sales and new offerings through their Facebook, Twitter or Instagram accounts.

The development of the Internet has also promoted e-commerce and e-business.  With the Internet, businesses are able to reach a global market, making brands ubiquitous. The popularity of e-commerce and also helped younger entrepreneurs enter the market due to low barriers of entry.

The e-learning lecture also reminded me of my first experience with e-learning when I was in secondary school and how basic e-learning tools such as Channel News Asia’s news in class made learning more interesting by giving it another dimension. It is interesting to consider the potential of e-learning. Institutions may be likely to consider a partial of full transition to e-learning, to save cost and allow for greater flexibility. Second Life also created new possibilities for learning from different locations and learning with fewer distractions. With e-learning, well-established institutions are able to offer courses online to students all over the world without charging exorbitant school fees.

Being a tool which people use on a daily basis, it was also very interesting to learn about how Google works and how Larry Page and Sergey Brin build the Google database through web crawling and indexing. It was also insightful to learn how many Internet tools remove the limitations of real life and allow people to perform without hampering their creativity, such a Google Earth. 

Learning about how to stay safe while using the Internet was very useful. Being more educated about the different threats of Internet security can ensure better user habits and equip us with the knowledge on the available protective software to use.

As mentioned earlier, with the Internet, everyone can have a voice and can reach out to a global audience. Public figures such as politicians can take advantage of Internet tools to easily reach citizens. The most recent breakthrough would be the Hangout with President Obama event on Google+. News also travels especially fast via social media sites over the Internet. This allows people to acquire knowledge first hand, but it also lacks verification. So people should be more discerning about what they read online.

The future of the Internet is moving away from the focus on desktops and laptops to highly portable mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. That could mean more innovations in that area, such as more advanced software and applications.

All in all, the Internet has opened up endless possibilities for all of us regardless of who we are. The Internet gave us the opportunity to be more than one person. It allows us to connect with the people who matter to us, as a friend or a family member and it allows us to share knowledge within our area of expertise with a large audience. It allows us to access the latest news as it breaks on the go. However, as with every breakthrough technology that changes lives, there are always two sides to the coin. As long as we learn to use it the right way, we would be able to reap its benefits while minimalizing negatives.