Wwwhat?

For those new to the World Wide Web, here's a brief overview of the whole "dot com" thing and why it's suddenly so popular.

 

The Internet

The Internet is really nothing new. It began in the 1960s as a way to link far-flung researchers working on defense projects in the United States. What the Internet is is a gigantic, world-wide collection of interconnected computers; these computers are in schools, businesses, laboratories, libraries, institutions, governmental agencies, and even homes. When a user logs on to the Internet from there living room, their computer is a part of the Internet, too.

Residential and small-business users connect to the Internet via an Internet Service Provider, or ISP. ISPs provide "dial-up" connections, which individual computers use to connect to the Internet with a modem.

The Internet is managed cooperatively by a variety of groups who set standards, oversee technical development, and recommend solutions for problems and issues. No one person or agency is in charge of the 'Net.

 

The Web

The World Wide Web is only one part of the Internet. The Web is essentially a huge collection of Web "sites," which are groups of Web "pages." Web pages are electronic publications that offer the primary feature of "hyperlinks," which are connections to other Web pages.

Pages on the Web are made using HyperText Markup Language, which, although not technically a programming language, is a way of modifying or "marking up" text-based computer files for display on the Web. Web pages have gone far beyond text, though. Modern pages can include graphics and photos, video, sound, and animation. A variety of techniques, such as the JavaScript application at the top of this page, allow interaction and feedback based on the actions of the page viewer.

A tremendous amount of diverse information is available on the Web, with more added literally every minute. One recent survey indicates that the Web is doubling in size every eight months.

 

E-mail

E-mail, short for Electronic Mail, has actually been around for quite a while and is the Internet's most often-used element. E-mail is an easy-to-use application for fast transmission of text-based messages between various computers across the Internet and private networks (intranets).

"Spam" can be a drawback when using e-mail. Spam is a slang term for junk e-mail. Because e-mail is so cheap and easy to use, it can be used by mass-marketers or unscrupulous businesses to flood thousands or millions of people with unsolicited messages. There are a variety of solutions for reducing the annoyance of spam, however.

E-mail is a great way to communicate. It makes it easy to converse across great distances and time zones. It's very inexpensive, even free in many cases. Some people think it will eventually replace regular old paper-based letters entirely.

 

E-commerce

Electronic Commerce, or e-commerce is a new term to describe doing business over the Internet. There are now businesses that run entirely over the Web, without a storefront at all.

Most e-commerce is conducted with credit cards, although there are also several "virtual cash" systems in use which allow anonymous transactions. Generally buyers view descriptions of products or services on Web sites and then make credit card purchases through a secure interface. The product or service is then delivered or provided, often without direct human interaction.

A great number of diverse businesses have jumped into e-commerce, selling everything from books to cars, software to airline tickets.

 

Power

For all it's amazing commercial and educational benefits, the real power of the Web lies in it's incredible diversity and flexibility. For anyone with access to a basic computer – at home, school, work, or a library – a huge realm of information, education, and entertainment is now available. Connecting to a Web site in Kansas is as easy as one in Kenya. The Web is a big part of our ever-shrinking world.

 

Society

Because the Web is based around language and computers, there's obviously a huge group of people that cannot see or use it. While practically every language can be found in the Internet, by far the predominant language is English. Although the Web is easy to use, it still requires a few basic computer skills and access to a computer (and the electricity and communications connections to run it).