Historical Development of the Internet and the World Wide Web

1.     Why is broadband service the key for the success of online communication? What are the social effects of broadband service? How does the broadband service make digital convergence possible?

Broadband is the key to online communication because it has the capacity to connect a large amount of “bandwidth” to be transmitted thus, more information can be sent to users in a shorter period of time. The social effects of broadband service are that most generated users are not able to receive audio and visual graphics in real time. Compared to television and radio, it is not the same quality graphics being delivered on a broadband network. This type of service makes digital convergence possible because it allows people to access the World Wide Web, allowing for undeniably fast possibilities of streaming and downloading.

2.     Why does the use of World Wide Web open the door of the Internet communication to a much wider audience? In what way does the Web with graphical web browsers move the online communication to “acoustic world” discussed in the pervious class?

The World Wide Web has opened the world to the Internet because it can be considered a “global electronic publishing medium”. Two trends have been study from this recent shift. To make the Internet accessible to more people, there has been a decrease in the cost of software and hardware that make up a computer. They have now become more affordable allowing people in lower socioeconomic status to obtain and be a part of the viral global world. Also the rising cost of telecommunication services has also affected the Internet spreading to a wider audience. The web and it’s graphic have shifted to the “acoustic world” due to it being interactive at the user’s control.

3.     How might telecommunication change if the government supported the development of broadband Internet for everyone?

It would completely alter production, creation, use, and distribution. It also can be considered a user’s Internet because it would give the ability for literally anyone to access and use broadband Internet.

4.     News organizations were changed by the telegraph, and a whole new business of news, that of the wire services, was created because of the telegraph. Discuss other industries that could benefit from rapid dissemination of information and how and why they would benefit from it.

Another industry that would benefit rapid dissemination would be commercial or fortune-500 companies. These groups could make more money, profit, and reach more people across the world. Being able to know a demographics wants and needs as it changes would be beneficial in assisting their companies marketing and advertising campaigns.

5.     Choose one of the common methods of online communication and think of how it could be improved in terms of facilitating communication between people, ensuring quality communication, and enabling the greatest number of users to distribute information.

One common method of online communication that could improve would be Twitter. Booming larger and larger everyday this social media site truly gives the power to its users in a 140 characters or less. Twitter users can speak their own mind, promote event and current events, and even communicate with one another. Within a few years, Twitter will be the most dominate force of all of the social media sites combined.