The Internet

1. The Internet Mass Communication Gets Personal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyPDHh4d1Xo

2. The Development of the Internet • Internet—a diverse set of independent networks, interlinked to provide its users with the appearance of a single, uniform network

3. Packet Switching: Letting Computers Talk to Each Other • Paul Baran (1964): • designing a military communication network that could survive a nuclear strike • packet switching—cutting messages into little pieces and sending them on along the easiest route to their final destination • message reassembled on the receiving computer • Donald Davies (England): • coined the name packet switching

4. ARPAnet • Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) • headed by J.C.R. Licklider • universities supplied with large, expensive computers • in Fall 1969 ARPAnet connected four institutions • initial nodes were: • University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) • Stanford Research Institute • University of California-Santa Barbara • University of Utah • first message from UCLA to Stanford • coincided with first moon landing, significance

5. Connecting Incompatible Networks • creating the Internet’s protocols: • Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf • invented TCP/IP • TCP stands for Transmission Control Protocol • allowed for conversion and transmission of messages across previously incompatible networks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hIQjrMHTv4

6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbMHY8I_kQ8 Commercial Networks • Compuserve, Prodigy, and Quantum provided access for non-academics • 1989—Quantum became America Online (AOL) • between 1993 and 1998, AOL subscribers grew from 200,000 to 8 million

7. The Next-Generation Internet • faster, more efficient networks being built • Internet2 Consortium • as of 2007, participants include: • more than 200 U.S. universities • 70 corporations • 45 government agencies • 50 international organizations

8. Computers as Communication Tools Interpersonal Communication: • E-mail and Instant Messaging • electronic mail (e-mail)—a message sent from one computer user to another across a network • initially limited to messages on a single computer • Ray Tomlinson (1972): • developed a system to send messages across systems • created the addressing format • @ fit format, and was not already in use

9. Instant Messaging • instant messaging programs—e-mail systems that allow users to: • chat with one another in real time • hold virtual meetings that span multiple cities • keep track of which of their “buddies” are online • most programs are incompatible: • violates a generally accepted standard for the Net

10. Group Communication: Listservs and Newsgroups • listservs—Internet discussion groups that use e-mail to exchange messages between as few as a dozen people or as many as several thousand: • users must subscribe to the group • newsgroup bulletin boards: • allow for international discussion of topics • usenet one of the largest

11. Mass Communication: The World Wide Web • Doug Englebart: • in 1968, demonstrated computer interaction • Ted Nelson: • hypertext—material in a format containing links that allow the reader to move easily from one section to another and from document to document • all the world’s literature available in hypertext

12. Tim Berners-Lee and the Birth of the World Wide Web: • World Wide Web—a system that allows users to view and link documents located anywhere in the world using standard software • in 1990the European Organization for Nuclear Research had the first Web server online • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IQFjTnDozo

13. The World Wide Web has three major components: • Uniform resource locator (URL) • the address of content placed on the Web • Hypertext transfer protocol (http) • a method for sending text, graphics, or anything else over the Internet from a server to a Web browser • Hypertext markup language (HTML) • the programming language used to create Web pages

14. A Vision for the Web • The basic technology is free. • Principles: • Information of all kinds should be available through the same window, or information space. • All documents on the Web must be equally accessible. • There must be a single address that will take users to a document. • Users should be able to link to any document at any space. • Users should be able to access any type of material from any type of computer. • Users should be able to create whatever types of relationships between information that they want to. • The Web should be a tool not just for information but also for collaboration. • There is no central control. • The Web software should be available free to anyone who wants to use it.

15. Bringing the Net to the Public • Berners-Lee’s browser: • limited to certain computers, no graphics • Mosaic: • first easy-to-use graphical Web browser • created by Marc Andreessen at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana • 1 million downloads after release

16. Andreesen and Jim Clark founded Netscape Communications • Netscape Navigator: • first commercial Web browser • 65 million using it in two years

17. The Last 100 Yards • March 2006—42 percent of Americans had high-speed connections at home, while 31 percent were using dial-up • broadband service: • ten times faster; allows for streaming audio, video • wireless access: • December 2006—34 percent using wireless connection

18. New Media and Online Entertainment Traditional versus New Media • click and mortars—traditional media companies that publish news online • sites may include supplementary material only found online • particularly effective with breaking news • can effectively cover multiple stories • customizable content

19. http://www.blairwitch.com/ http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi9044249/ Movies and the Net: • promotion of films and filmmakers • requires high speed connection • users unwilling to pay for online films • forced to watch in front of their PC • New Media: • Slate and Salon, exclusively online magazines • low publishing costs, quick updates • readers expect updates, no subscription revenue • Aggregator Sites • Excite, Yahoo, Google, AOL, and Netscape

20. The Changing Nature of News: • large amounts of information, accurate and otherwise • distinguishing what is good from what is nonsense can be difficult • many stories start out on the Internet, then creep into the mainstream media • rumors can spread uncontrollably

21. Weblogs • blog—a collection of links and commentary in hypertext that can be created and posted on the Internet with relatively little effort: • provides a forum for people to write, post content • offers readers different perspectives

22. Search as a Medium • search engines provide information and news • some world governments restrict Internet searching • France and Yahoo • China and Yahoo The Long Tail of Internet News • citizen journalism • YouTube

23. The Internet and Society The Hacker Ethic: • Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniaks’ blue boxes • Stephen Levy, “Hackers” • “Digital trespassers”: • access to computers should be unlimited and total • all information wants to be free • mistrust authority—promote decentralization • you should be judged by your skills

24. The Man Who Invented Cyberspace • William Gibson • coined the phrase “cyberspace” in his 1984 book Neuromancer • Gibson on cyberspace: “an expression of the hippie ideals of freedom and self-expression” • also credited with the word cyberpunk

25. Community on the Net • Face-to-face communication not required Is It Really a World Wide Web? • 73 percent of Americans have Internet access at home. • Only 16 percent of world population has Internet access: • 13 percent in Brazil, 19 percent in Mexico • Barriers: • language—80 percent of Web sites are English • costs and lack of basic technology: • electric and telephone service

26. Conflicts over Digital Media • Controlling content on the Web: • open forum where anyone can publish anything • great deal of inappropriate material for kids • filtering software • original Net built to prevents blocks and barriers

27. Privacy and the Web • Amazon.com, online forms, registrations • cookies—tiny files used to identify Web site visitors and potentially track their actions on the Web • used for personalized content delivery Clifford Stoll: Silicon Snake Oil • assisted U.S. government in catching hackers in late 1980s • internet replaces real interactions and experiences • false sense of intimacy without the emotional involvement

28. Convergence of Old and New Media: • National Public Radio and News 2.0 • Al-Jazeera started its English-language service online • Politico and premature John Edwards announcement From newspapers to brands: • Arthur Sulzberger, New York Times publisher/owner • states in a speech that the Times will continue to deliver news and advertising in whatever forms will turn a profit