USES OF THE INTERNET RORY DUTHIE
OBJECTIVES Learn about the uses of the internet Learn uses related to computing Learn who uses the different parts of the internet Learn figures related to internet use
BRIEF INTERNET HISTORY The internet was developed from the ARPANET. The ARPANET was developed in 1969. It connected four university computers in the USA. Allowing scientists from the universities to share resources. This framework coupled with the TCP/IP framework allowed the creation of the internet.
THE FIRST INTERNET USES The initial use of the internet was for sending email. (1972) Everything is text based with no graphics. File Transfer Protocol was created to connect to remote computers. (1973) You could list and download the files of the computer. Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web allowing the use of graphical user interfaces. (1989) Mosaic was created for browsing and navigating the WWW. (1993)
WHO USES THE INTERNET AND WHAT FOR? Businesses Check stocks of their company, check product trends. Recruiters Head hunt workers, find people jobs. Programmers Create websites, share ideas, find code examples. Average Person Catch up with friends, find information about opening times. Many more!
WHAT ARE THE TOP USED WEBSITES OF 2015 SO FAR?
No. of Users: 531 Million 5. BAIDU Chinese search engine, strong in Chinese language and multi-media content.
No. of Users: 1 Billion 4. YAHOO Internet portal: news, search engine, email and more.
No. of Users: 1Billion 3. YOUTUBE Upload videos for free. www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqeep1acj4y
No. of Users: 1.49 Billion 2. FACEBOOK Speak to friends, create events, form groups, follow bands etc.
No. of Users: 2.2 Billion 1. GOOGLE Search engine: information, images, shopping and a lot more. http://www.alexa.com/topsites
WHAT DO ALL THESE WEBSITES HAVE IN COMMON? They all have minimalist interfaces (they are not overloaded with content). They are easy to use. They are easy to learn. They perform tasks which we need.
DIFFERENT USES OF THE INTERNET
INTERNET USES Communication: Mobile communication, email, video calls. Social Networks: Connect with friends, talk to them online. Gaming: Play video games online, board games too. Shopping: Websites which allow you to purchase items and products. Information: Websites where information can be collaborated or retrieved. Searching: Find information, find websites. Multimedia: Retrieve images and videos.
INTERNET USES: COMMUNICATION Mobile Communication: Email: Video calls:
INTERNET USES: SOCIAL NETWORKS
INTERNET USES: GAMING
INTERNET USES: SHOPPING
INTERNET USES: INFORMATION
INTERNET USES: SEARCHING
INTERNET USES: MULTIMEDIA
INTERNET USES
WHO USES THE DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE INTERNET
SOCIAL NETWORKS
GAMING
THE INTERNET USES IN COMPUTING Sharing Code Finding Code Collaborating in work Managing Projects Tutorials Building things
USES IN COMPUTING: SHARING CODE Program code can be written and shared with users over multiple platforms. Dropbox: Dropbox allows you to share folders and files with certain people, or keep them private. Codeshare: You can write code, copy & paste it into codeshare and share the link with anyone you like.
USES IN COMPUTING: FINDING CODE There are lots of online communities which provide examples and answer questions on a multitude of programming languages. StackOverflow: Online community with tutorials and questions related to different programming problems. W3Schools: Lots of information on web development including examples.
USES IN COMPUTING: COLLABORATING In group projects it is important to be able to easily merge project code, create new versions and create subversions of code. GitHub: Allows multiple users to submit code to one project, but also create subversions of the project.
USES IN COMPUTING: MANAGING PROJECTS When there are large numbers in production teams it is important to track the tasks of the project and who is doing them. That s why there is management software. Microsoft Sharepoint: Collaboration of work and documents, along with task management. JIRA: Track problems in software and who is responsible for the code.
USES IN COMPUTING: TUTORIALS There are a multitude of tutorials on the internet for all sorts programming problems, or even learning new programming languages. Found on YouTube, StackOverflow, W3Schools.
USES IN COMPUTING: BUILDING THINGS Everything that has been mentioned so far has involved a software developer at some stage of the project. The internet is needed to build websites, the websites must be hosted on a server somewhere in order for users to get access.
THREE LEVELS OF THE INTERNET Societal Social Individual
SOCIETAL Societal level refers to trends within internet use. People tend to flock to the same things. This stems from emergent behaviour which is natural.
EMERGENCE The arising of novel and coherent structures, patterns and properties during the process of self-organization in complex systems - Jeffrey Goldstein Whenever you have a multitude of individuals interacting with one another there often comes a moment when disorder gives way to order and something new emerges: a pattern, a decision, a structure, or a change in direction - Peter Miller
PROPERTIES OF EMERGENT SYSTEMS Decentralised organisational structure Exhibits new features There is a global level (property of wholeness ) There is an integrated whole which maintains itself over time They are dynamic systems
EMERGENT PROPERTY appears when a number of simple entities operate in an environment, forming more complex behaviours as a collective. but - just having a large number of interactions is not enough by itself to guarantee emergent behaviour typically hard to predict
THE WORLD WIDE WEB Decentralised system exhibiting emergent properties No central organization rationing the number of links Number of links pointing to each page follows a power law in which a few pages are linked to many times and most pages are rarely linked to. Almost any pair of pages can be connected to each other through a relatively short chain of links (initially unexpected in an unregulated network)
REAL WORLD EXAMPLE Shift from Bebo to Facebook Bebo was originally one of the favoured social networks to young people in the UK. Slowly as Facebook gained more world wide traction, the use of Bebo decreased until eventually Facebook was the most popular network. This could be seen as emergent behaviour, people flocking to the newcomer. Facebook achieved the same thing with MySpace.
SOCIAL The internet can be used to connect with friends and acquaintances. Allows for online quick interaction without the need for face to face interaction. Connect with friends living miles away. Social networks allow this.
SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET There is no need for face to face interaction. Why shop in store when you can do it in peace online? Why phone someone when you can just as easily explain through text or email? The internet allows people to hide.
INDIVIDUAL The internet allows users to shape interaction. Find interests and engage with them online. Do a multitude of things from the sofa. Can this have an affect on a persons health and mental wellbeing?
DRAWBACKS OF THE INTERNET https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckawj72x1ri
FOUR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN INTERNET INTERACTION AND FACE-TO-FACE INTERACTION. 1. Greater anonymity 2. The diminution of the importance of physical appearance 3. Greater control over the time and pace of interactions 4. The ease of finding similar others
SUMMARY We looked at some of the people who use the internet: Businesses, Programmers, Recruiters and average people. We looked at the top 5 websites in use in 2015. We looked at the different internet uses: communication, social networks, gaming, shopping, information, searching and multimedia.
SUMMARY We also looked at the different demographics of social network use and gaming use. As you get older you are less likely to use a social network. Gaming doesn t vary that much. We also looked at the uses of the internet in computing: Sharing Code, Finding Code, Collaborating in work, Managing Projects, Tutorials and Building things.
SUMMARY We looked at the levels of the internet: social, societal and individual. We looked at some of the drawbacks and positives of using the internet. How the internet can be an unhealthy distraction. How the internet can allow people to escape to a world where they can be someone else.
QUESTIONS? Email: r.w.duthie@dundee.ac.uk for any questions.