Week 1 Jan 12, 14

Week 1 to-read-list
1. History of Internet
2. Internet history timeline
3. From Wikipedia, the free encylopedia
4. weblogs: a history and perspective
5. Folksonomy, From Wikipedia, the free encylopedia

The Internet is a part of our everyday lives, so much so that I feel that we have started to take it for granted. We use the Internet, but we do not have a clear grasp of how the Internet actually works and how it came about. I reckon that history of anything doesn't really appeal to our generation of quick fixes and short attention spans but as our instructor for COM 125 mentioned, knowing the history of something is for our benefit; so that we better know how to deal with the future.

Having a blog leads to the idea that we can be candid regarding what we are blogging about and so, I will stick my neck out a bit here. I have to admit that when I learnt about taking this course, I gave a little groan; after all, we are the IT generation and what else can we learn about the Internet that would be beneficial to us? We take to new technology like fish to water. And now we have to study the theory behind it?

But I have to admit, that the Internet actually makes for fascinating studying; not studying in an academic way but analyzing it and all that. And something that I realised in class, outside of the teaching, was that Internet has made it possible for simple ideas to really take flight and grow into a global phenomenon, which was unthinkable in decades past. Yahoo, Google, Youtube, Facebook and the wave of new Internet technology proves this point. It got me thinking, that I could become rich too, if I had an idea!

Also, being part of the generation that started off with DOS and typed commands, I am suddenly amazed when reminded in class about how far IT has evolved in a mere decade. Through IT and the Internet, I have my eyes opened to the wonders of online encyclopedias where information is literally at our fingertips, of search engines that can find any thing I desire at the click of a button, of social networking sites where I can reconnect with long lost friends and make new ones, of video hosting sites where you can find the most obscure videos, of online shopping sites that suck my money dry at the click of the mouse and much much more. Here are 5 sites that I visit regularly in my leisure time:

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Check out these sites if you haven't. You may like them! (The icons are all hyperlinks.)

So what exactly have I learnt in class this week? That the Internet is growing and its potential is seemingly unlimited. I have barely scratched the surface of the Internet and this perhaps is a good time to start exploring the possibilities of the Internet; for my self growth and for a good grade for COM 125. :P