The Evolution of the Internet

The definition of the Internet by Wikipedia is: "the worldwide, publicly accessible network of interconnected computer Networks that transmit data by packet switching using the standard Internet Protocol (IP)."

The pubaccsi interco what?? Ladies and Gentlemen, The Enjoyable Version:

The creation of the internet dates back to the Cold War and is due, believe it or not, to the Government and it's competition against Russia in the 60s, more specifically the US Military racing against the launch of Sputnick. The Government created DARPA, headed by J.C.R. Licklider from MIT and this is where the original idea of the "NETWORK" (interconnected computers connected together and communicating with each other) was born. The original name of the internet was ARPANET. This sparked a whole series of events that gave way to the internet we know and love today. As a result, mankind has changed the way we communicate and to some of us, the way we work. Here is a detailed time line for a more detailed view.

We are witnessing a new evolution that we need to understand. Sadly, those who choose to ignore this change will soon be struggling to keep up. There are more and more people who are discovering the potential of the internet and what it has to offer. This new phase has been dubbed WEB 2.0 by O'Reilly Media in 2004. Web 2.0 simply means the second phase of the internet in regards to the way it's used by popular demand such as blogs, wikis, podcasting, etc... Go here for a detailed chart explaining the difference between the first phase of the internet and the current phase (or Web 2.0).

India and China (and now Latin America) are taking over millions of American Jobs via outsourcing due to massive company savings. I can vouch for that, I took a job in Colombia once and the company grew incredibly fast. Professional web workers are out there happily making a buck (and more) either by running a site or a blog with affiliate links, pay per click links, or selling ad space.

YouTube and MySpace rank 4th and 5th as the most visited sites in the world, which means that the young generation is really absorbed by this evolution. I mean, what the hey! Not only is it huge, free to explore, and powerful, it can also make you money! What's not to love?