What is the Internet?

It has many different names – the Internet, the World Wide Web, the information super highway among others.

The Internet is a powerful modern network for sharing information and communicating globally. You may be left wondering, exactly what it is. When you are considering this, it is important to think about it in the global context. Simply put, it is a gigantic interconnected spiderweb of computers on something called the Internet Protocol Suite. Today it provides billions of people with a method of sharing information and communicating.

The United States government in the 1960s when they were researching and developing computer networks initiated the Internet. This was the very beginning of what would eventually become the Internet. It was commercialized by the 1990s to become a network of international users and was open to the public and businesses. When thinking about what is the Internet, you might think of it is endless virtual connections to people, businesses, communities and endless sources of information. It is literally the world at your fingertips.  To many people it is endless possibilities for learning, for making money and for connecting with people.

People looking for meaning in the world today might ask themselves, what is the Internet and how does it relate to my connection to the world. Stop and think for a moment how the Internet connects you to others. Think about how it connects you to the outside world.  The news you read, the communications you send, the people you connect to – all of this has changed since the dawn of the Internet age. What is the Internet? It is the start of the global worldview. What is the Internet? It has shrunk the world and our relationship with it down to a small relatable size. Yet the world is more complex than ever before.

What is the Internet? It has changed the face of business completely. We now have a global economy. Globalization occurred in large part due to the Internet. A global market would be difficult to imagine without the Internet. What is the Internet to a global business? It is everything. The Internet enables a global exchange market. Business transactions can take place face-to-face with board rooms across the globe.

If you are thinking  in terms of communications, it is a total game-changer. Old modes of communication have taken on new meaning since the Internet. It has changed the world, communication, business and world-views.

What is the Internet to the world? It has shrunk the world and made us aware of its importance. What is the Internet to a revolution in an oppressed country? What is the Internet to a small start-up business that has launched a global campaign? What is the Internet to a global non-profit organization? It is endless opportunity. What is the Internet to a global movement? It is a chance for grassroots change. What is the Internet? A revolutionary technology has changed everything.