Academic growth of the internet.

VLEVirtual learning environment known as VLE’s are systems that are normally used in institutions for many people to connect to and support collaborative working. It can be accessed via the internet on any computer anywhere using a URL this makes if flexible for you to use at your own disposal. They normally have a login function so only members that are registered are allowed to view pages and other content. VLE means what it says it is an online learning environment and are mainly used in schools and training courses within businesses. They can offer a lot of services including.

· Chat rooms and forums

· Resources sharing ( file uploads)

· Restrictions and privileges

· Flexible use

Some VLE’s will offer a forum based service where you can chat with other people who are signed up or post for help with something you are struggling with. VLE’s can harbour files within them for people to access from the site this makes the files portable in effect because you can access the VLE’ from any capable device with an internet connection. The VLE can offer privileges for certain people so they can edit and enter parts that others can’t so private collaborative working will be used within a VLE. This has aided the academic growth because it encourages schools and colleges to get a VLE for their pupils and its all online.

Wikis

The word wiki comes from WikiWiki which is a Hawaiian word for quick which is what a good wiki is. A wikis aim is to provide reliable information quickly without much effort. Examples of wiki software include Wikipedia, wiki answers and TWiki which allows users to add, remove and edit web pages through a web browser. Wikis are open source meaning anyone who wants to use the information on them can and they have no copyright on them.

Advantages of wikis are that they are easy to update information to make them more accurate and it allows people to correct mistakes. Almost no previous use of wikis is required to use them effectively.

This has contributed to the academic growth of the internet because it is a massive bank of information and can be put to educational use very effectively.

Digital library

Digital library is a similar to a normal library but you can download the books and store them in a digital format this adds flexibility for you and can be a great archive of information with a small amount of effort.

There are advantages to digital library’s one being the user doesn’t have to go the the library to get the book which saves time. You can use an online library 24/7 so opening times and closing times are no problem for you. The information can be used by more than one person because it is in digital form not just 1 person can use it at any time.

The boundaries for the library are endless they can store millions of books if they wish and can offer a wider variety than the traditional library.

This has aided the academic growth because it can be used cheaply and with great success and can be carried with students anywhere which makes it a valuable and much used resource.

Google scholar

Google scholar is a fast and effective way to find information and literature and can be used to many different things. Google scholar helps the user find digital and real copies of articles and books from publishers, societies and universities.

The searches on Google scholar will return many different formats for the user to choose from this gives variety and different methods of viewing the information.

Google scholar has helped the growth of the internet academically because it can search through masses of information that is not humanly possible to do this makes it a valuable resource and effective means or research and browsing.

Online learning websites

Online learning websites have given great help to people who need to revise and learn by their own means. There are many dedicated websites out there such as BBC bite sized for students to use as a revising resource and help to learn.

This facility brought people online for academic values and has helped as a great resource for learning and revising for schools.

Technological growth of the internet

Technological growth of the internet

Packet switching.

Packet switching is a method of sending many different packets of data across networks.

Packet switching is a process of breaking up the data you are sending into small packets so they can be sent easier which requires less bandwidth and creates an efficient solution to a complicated problem.

The packets are then sent separately and can take different routes but still end up at the same destination. When they arrive at the destination they are reassembled into the original data.

The implications of packet switching has helped with people intercepting packets (packet sniffing) because the data is split the information is next to useless. It has aided the growth of the internet as people can use the internet with small internet connections as a result for example using copper wires.

Cloud Storage

Cloud storage is massive online storage like putting your information online but only you can access is with an internet connection. You can usually acquire cloud storage from large companies such as apple and Google.

There are many advantages of cloud storage, companies don’t have to install hard drives which would cost more in the short term. Making backups is a thing of the past with cloud storage as it’s backed up and very unlikely that they will lose your data. Wherever you are and whenever you want it with an internet connection you can access your storage and information.

However there are some disadvantages of using cloud storage, the security of your stored data could be an issue as your password and information for your account could be fished and all your data could be accessed easily. You need a decent internet connection and a good one to download your files from the storage each time you want to use them. Copper wires would make this a hard system to make use of.

Wireless and mobile Devices

Wireless devices have revolutionised the way we connect to the internet we can now move around as we are connected making our lifestyle more flexible and easier to manage as a result.

Wireless internet lets people connect to the internet without any cables which has a great advantage for businesses and home life and can be applied in many different platforms.

The amount of people that can connect to a wireless network is unlimited or very high but performance is sacrifices as the numbers get higher because it shares the internet connection between all the people connected.

Mobile devices are a great form of technology that has emerged in the past few years they have been successful in keeping us connected wherever we are some mobile devices include. iPods, iPhones, Smart Phones, Laptops and tablet computers. Most mobile devices use 3G to connect which is slower but still a successful method of making us connect from anywhere we wish.

Because of the popularity of mobile devices larger companies are producing platform specific versions of their website to make them more compatible and easy for people to access on the go.


Domain names
domain names are basicly IP adresses put into word form this makes them more useable and easy to remember for people which made them easy to navigate to and it also gave the oportunity for people to have a name for their website and not a number.


The domain name gave a catagory to different parts of the world and different types of website, this made the web more organised and easier to navigate throgh which added to the technological growth of the internet.

Political growth of the internet

Political growth of the internet

Online petitions

Online petitions have aided the political growth of the internet because it took a whole research platform and digitalised it. this made it very popular as it made a long strenuous task much easier to accomplish. It also aided in the number of people that could take the petition and sign it as a result.

An online petition works much the same as a normal petition but you use personal information in most cases to sign and make a real signature for yourself this is to tackle minipulation of the system to make it as fair as possible. This is usually done by creating a petition on a dedicated website and would require an account to sign a petition.

This also comes at a risk of excluding a whole section of people who don't use computers but could be tackled by doing a traditional petition along side the online petition.

Government Websites

government websites have had a small impact on the growth of the internet on a political level. they have gained their own domain name and gained recognition on a large scale which sprouted into county council websites in the UK and gave the U.S government the basis of their government official websites with only officials registering as .gov it is a safe and reliable source for people to use within the country of orogin.


at first only federal agencies were aloud to use the .gov domain but in latest legislation any government can use the .gov domain. as a result of the domain opening to all governments within a country it helps unite them and aid communication and has a positive effect overall.



Social Networking

Social networking has given many different opportunities for the internet to grow politically. it has offered key publicity about political events and made an efficient way for people to know and voice their opinion about them.

Local MP's took it upon themselves to emerge themselves in Facebook itself, they are using it as a platform of communication to help their party and constituency and giving the chance for people to contact them and talk to them about issues and problems.

twitter is used politically and used regularly to post information about current media events and political views and events from different MP's.

Election campaigns
Election campaigns have been revolutionised by the internet purely because they can access all age ranges of people by using it targeting the younger people on the internet while still having a strong presence in the media. The ability to put their campaign out on this mass scale helped the party’s immensely in votes.

Instead of printing a manifesto they can upload it onto the internet which saves money and really gets it out there for people to read and make judgement on which makes it a great technology to have at your disposal.

The election was monitored as it was happening on the internet a website was updated as the seats were achieved and a digital mapping of constituencys was created to represent the majority.

Commercial growth of the internet

Commercial growth of the internet
E-commerce
E-commerce is the art of buying and selling of a product or service online. E-commerce has helped national brands go world wide like apple.
E-commerce has lots of contributing factors but also some disadvantages.
Advantages

• You can shop from Online stores around the world.
• You have a large variety of shops to choose from
• It is easy to compare prices.

Disadvantages

• You cant see and feel the product
• The product costs money to receive in many cases
• the security measures put in place can sometimes be compromised

E-commerce has contributed towards the growth of the internet in a huge way. Since 1995 eBay and Amazon have been selling on-line this has contributed to the growth of the internet because people are not limited by what's in the shop the world opened up and you could by things from everywhere across the world. Amazon is now the biggest online shop boasting millions of products and charging a small return on the items people sell through them.


Online Auctions
Online auctions allow users to bid for a product or a service over the Internet The most typical sites which apply this business model is eBay. When compared to other online line shops which can also be found on the high street, online auctions can be classed as a way to save money, this is because people can start to bid what they feel right is for the product and don’t necessarily have to pay the price originally paid for it. Due to this and the excitement you get when you are in a bidding war with some one you have never met before, some people can become addicted and then because you bid, even though they could start off with a matter of penny's you could soon be spending way more than a hundred pounds. People using online auctions can often think they will loose money, however in most cases a minimum sale price can be set up ensuring them a certain amount.


Google Ads
Every one sees Google Ads but don’t really realise what they are looking at. In most cases it is the top three results shown with a yellowish hue behind them. Its an online feature within Google and uses a technology that will only target the marketing power towards the audience. It carries out this procedure by looking at what the user is searching for. For example if a person searched for online groceries, then Google Ads will promote ASDA, Ocado and Waitrose. This could also work on a pay per hit basis, where each time someone clicks on the linnk, the compnay has to pay Google a certain amount.

E-MarketingE-marketing is the marketing of products using online services. It can be conducted mainly by using email but can take other forms of wireless media. An example of a good use of e-marketing is someone setting up a shop either on line or in the high street, once a customer has brought something they would be placed on a mailing list, e-mails will then be regularly sent to then informing them of new products and price reductions.

Geo-MarketingGeo-marketing is another new way of e-marketing, as more people are starting to use phones, companies can track these devices and send ‘push notifications’ to the user dependant on their location. This means that wherever you are you could receive an update which you could potentially not want but something which would catch you attention. For example if the user was located near a Pizza Hut and the users smart phone contained a Pizza Hut app then it could potentially suggest meal ideas and update the customer on any deals or offers which are on at that store. This enables people to advertise their offers without drawing the customer towards the premises.

Social Growth of the internet

 Social Growth Of The Internet

 Social Networking Sites

Social Networking has revolutionised the internet. With the emergence of websites like Twitter and Facebook the internet has changed for good.

Even though these sites may not last forever, social networking is something that will be around for a long time.

An early form of social networking sites are forums. These, like any other type of social networking platform allow people with similar common interests to communicate with each other.

Facebook

Since its year of release Facebook has dramatically changed the internet. Now the web isn’t filled with millions of anonymous people, it is instead filled with friends, friends of friends and a host of different groups. There are 3 main ways in which Facebook has changed the internet.

1.       Finding People

You can easily search for people on Facebook. When you type in their name you can search through a list of people that all have the same name as the person you’re looking for. By using profile pictures you can easily find the correct person you are searching for.

If you were trying to use a search engine to find your friend then you would end up sifting through thousands of pages that could only have some small reference to somebody with the same name. This is not an efficient method.

2.       Privacy

We post a lot of pictures on sites like Facebook. Anything from nights out to days at school

Facebook however, allows privacy settings to be applied to your account. These settings allow you to determine who accesses the information, so you can confine things to be seen by only friends, friends of friends or by the whole internet.

However one of the biggest issues of Facebook is their view on privacy. In the past few years, there have been times where the privacy of members has been compromised and all of their information has been on show for the whole internet. This has been seen not too long ago when you could report Mark Zuckerberg’s profile picture and access his private photos.

3.       Connections

Many different websites have links to Facebook. Most of these being a like button on a particular article or picture. You can look at thousands of websites and see how many people have liked the article including your friends.

These likes then contribute towards your Facebook profile where your friends can see the articles or images you have liked recently.

Twitter

Twitter sees over 300 million tweets a day. A tweet is just a little message about what you or your organisation is doing.

Twitter has a major community following it because it can be accessed through almost any connectable device which makes it is easy to use and follow with just basic functions from technologies.

The way in which twitter has been made successful is that it connects ordinary people like you and me to celebrities and anyone else using the follower system. This is interesting in the eyes of 1.6 billion people following them each day.

Socially, Twitter has had a large impact on the internet because of the huge member base that it has gained since its release. Many celebrities use twitter as a way of sharing what they are doing with their fans. Due to this it gives the opportunity for stars to communicate with absolutely anyone.

YouTube

YouTube’s slogan “Broadcast Yourself” has been one of the most successful catchphrases because it’s exactly what people did.

YouTube has a massive fan base and has had a huge impact on the way we receive and distribute information between ourselves. Over the years it has maintained its spot as the largest video sharing website since it was founded in 2005.

The thing that makes YouTube great is the features that it offers. It allows anyone and everyone to upload whatever they want as long as it is within the guidelines set. This has changed how people use the internet for their social life, because many users have channels dedicated to Vlogging. These people frequently post videos that share their opinion about current events and interests. Vlogging has also seen an increase in viewers because of social networking sites where links can be posted.

YouTube has helped the music industry by spreading artists work instantly across the world and making stars such as Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga. The music industry has definitely seen a rise in the popularity of music since Vevo was introduced with people now listening to a larger variety of music. YouTube has inspired an active audience, we don’t just read about the news but people now post videos portraying their opinions through a variety of video genres.

Between 2008 and 2011 millions of videos have been uploaded in many different categories, here are some figures since launch.

• Total number of YouTube videos -- over 120 million

• Number of videos uploaded per day -- about 200 thousand

• Time required to see all the videos -- over 600 years

• Number of videos watched daily -- over 3 billion

• Amount of content uploaded every minute -- 48 hours

• Number of accounts on YouTube -- over 300 million and rising

Skype

Skype was launched in 2003 and is a type of Voice over Internet Protocol software. It allows people to make free or very cheap phone calls around the world.

Skype is a totally free piece of software so it now boasts the largest number of users in the VOIP arena, and there are 663 million people registered as of September 2011.

Not only can people call their friends and relatives for free, but they can video call them which gives the whole process a more personal feel and makes it more desirable for an older generation to talk to family.

 Skype and all other VOIP software have helped to develop the internet socially because they allow anyone to talk to everyone with no limitations. You can call about business, to have a chat with a friend, or even hold a group conversation. VOIP has made its way into many different parts of the internet and is a great piece of software for social interaction.

 Email

Email has been one of the largest contributors towards the social growth of the internet since it was invented in 1973. Over the years it has been upgraded to the services that we have today. Emails allow people to send messages anywhere in the world instantly and with very little cost.

When Email was first introduced we were only able to send simple text based messages to each other. However we are now able to do so much more with the technology than we used to be able to. We are now able to attach files, and even use basic formatting features to make our emails look better.

Socially, Emails have changed the internet because of the things that they can do. We can now easily share news articles with each other, forward messages containing useful information and even write to pen pals without needing pen and paper.

Online Gaming

One of the biggest growths of the internet for social use is online gaming through the three major institutions Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft.  The games designers had a vision of people playing games with each other from across the world and communicating as they did so.

The demand for online gaming is massive, currently Xbox Live has 20 Million users alone and PlayStation Network has 17 million.

A lot of games currently offer co-operative play and it is now modern to give the option of team playing over the internet. You can group up with friends to be up against other people from around the world, or join a team of random people.

Online gaming has had a great social impact because many people make friends with those they meet and can play with them regularly. However, online gaming is very anonymous and people can hide behind their screen name which generally makes this type of the social internet to be a very verbally abusive place.

Overall we think that these contributors have increased the use of the internet in massive numbers due to the social aspects that they bring. There has been a huge increase in the number of different ways in which we can interact over the internet and this can be seen in everyday life.