Innovations of the Internet

Over the past twenty years, the internet has made many great advances, both technologically and innovatively. Early users and creators of the internet probably had no idea what kind of significant impact the internet would have on the plethora of information that the public is now freely able to access with the simple click of a button.

Originally, the internet was created as a way to play with hypertext, as well as provide a personal database of information. It was a way for great minds around the world to be able to share information without having to use one common machine. Over a short span of time, the internet has morphed into probably the single most used source of information, and connectivity among modern society.

One can only presume if the creators of the internet were aware of the impact they were making on the world when they were putting together the rough draft of the World Wide Web. While these men were undoubtedly genius in their own right, I highly doubt they could imagine the great extent to which this humanlike “machine” would become. At the time of the internet’s creation, what would begin as a way to share technical information would become the basis to everyday life for most of us.

Who would have known that we would not only be able to search for basic information on line, but pay bills, talk face to face with friends overseas, or do some grocery shopping from the comfort of your own home? While the internet is my favorite way to look up simple information such as phone numbers, background searches, and basic knowledge that could once only be found via encyclopedia or micro phish, its many uses greatly outnumber the basic uses it was originally designed for. Programs such as Skype, for some people, have replaced picking up a telephone and calling someone long distance. Why would you, when seeing someone as you talk to them is much more personal, and let’s face it, fascinating?

The implications of the rapid advancements of the World Wide Web suggest that we are merely on the brink of our capabilities as humans using what used to be a simple word processor. In our own homes, we are now able to “become” the machine, and teach it new tricks. Each time we click on a link, type a word phrase in a search engine, or visit a website, we are seemingly molding the internet into something all our own.

The advancements of the World Wide Web not only amaze me, but sometimes (actually most of the time) I feel as if I cannot keep up! However, as long as we as humans maintain a sense of order and respect for each other, then the internet can actually benefit us more than we had ever imagined. Although some fear that we are actually becoming robots in our society, none of us would be where we are today without the internet’s capabilities, and I look forward to growing and learning more along with it.