as you and I sit on our computers, browsing the infinite catacombs of the world wide web, we tend to forget how much the internet affects our daily lives.
the internet is truly a revolution of the 20th century. it’s an unlimited and invaluable source of knowledge that we access so often each day.
on any given day, I could be on the internet in a variety of ways: checking my email, looking at Facebook, writing on my blog, researching academic journals, listening to music and more. as a student, to think about not having the luxuries of internet connection in my daily life is perplexing; the immediacy of information would vanish along with my ease of communication. it’s a different way of life.
how has the internet revolutionized our lives?
you can get news and information on the spot. as a communication major, I can clearly see how the internet has revolutionized how quickly we can receive information. the internet is instantaneous… as long as you have a connection. this connection used to only be available through computers, but today, we can receive our information even more quickly than through a computer on our cell phones.
you can stay in touch. the internet facilitates communication with others, regardless of their location or proximity. email especially has transformed the way we communicate with others, whether in a business, personal or collegiate setting. a recent study by Gartner, Inc., found that 53% of corporate email users checked their mail over six times a day. social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace help individuals stay informed and in contact with the people involved in their current life and in the past.
the internet builds communities. blogs, chat rooms and more foster a sense of community, regardless of physical identity. individuals communicate with others without having ever met them. this sense of two-way communication is a technological revolution, second next to telecommunication and face-to-face communication.
you can access information from multiple locations. a vast array of information is available at your fingertips: whether you’re in Springfield, Missouri, or Hawaii (to which I’ve never been, unfortunately). up until fairly recently, you absolutely needed a computer to access the wealth of information available on the web. today, however, mobile phones are transforming the way we receive information over the web. we can get what information we want, when we want, and where we want.
you can have access to infinite amounts of information. a person could spend every second of their waking life surfing the web and never get through the never-ending pages of the world wide web. quite frankly, it’s HUGE. moreover, individuals have the right to publish unfiltered information over the web. you can be your own editor of what you choose to publish. the public relations industry has been hugely affected with the rise of blogging. PR is no longer characterized by large PR firms and traditional press releases. with the advent of blogs, individuals are empowered with the opportunity to create their own forms of public relations. however, individual publishing is not a threat to the public relations industry, but an opportunity: communities of bloggers can bring increased PR for brands, communities and companies alike.
here are a few of my favorite internet sites to learn from:
google.com: how general, I know, but it’s a great starting point. google is my favorite search engine. the concept of a search engine is simple, but the impact and result is truly enormous. you simply type a topic into a box and click “go.” a computer finds the most relevant pages to your topic. it’s fascinating: search engines have truly transformed internet surfing and the quest for relevant information. you can type in anything and have the information readily available. have you ever googled yourself? try it.
Wikipedia.com: Wikipedia can be a great source for information, but because it is user-generated, many scholars find some of the pages to be unreliable sources. however, the website is well-maintained: most common topic pages are well-researched with bibliographical citations. it is a great springboard for academic research or just a great way to find information on a certain topic.
youtube.com: it’s like television over the internet, but better. videos are available to users at any time, at any place. as an advertising major, if I want to find a television commercial, I can usually find it on youtube.
seeqpod.com: seeqpod is a mp3 search engine. try it: type in any song and you instantly have access to the mp3 to listen over the internet. you can create playlists of your favorite songs, regardless of whether you have the mp3 file itself.
academic search engines: JSTOR, LexisNexis, EBSCOhost, GoogleScholar and more. being able to find academic information via the internet creates makes facilitating academic information so easy.
stumbleupon: I think stumbleupon truly could revolutionize the search engine: whether than having a computer find the “most relevant” information, stumble upon has human, user-generated search results.
these are merely just a few of the learning opportunities you can find on the internet.
so don’t just sit there and read this blog: go surfing.
