Meaning of internet (what is it, concept and definition)

What is the Internet:

Internet is a neologism of English that means decentralized computer network of global reach. It is a system of networks interconnected by means of different protocols that offers a great diversity of services and resources, such as, for example, access to hypertext files through the web.

Internet is an anglicism that is formed by the abbreviation of the term International Network of Computers , which in Spanish could be translated as 'Red Internacional de Computadoras', or also as 'Red de redes'.

In Spanish, the word internet is considered a proper name. The Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), in its dictionary, admits that it be written with or without an initial capital letter. Hence, preferably, it is used without an article, although in case of using it, the feminine use is recommended, since the equivalent name in Spanish would be 'red', which is feminine.

See also the concept of Networks.

Origin of internet

There are two versions about the beginning of the internet. The most popular one points to its creation as a response from the US Department of Defense, who in the 1960s were looking for the way in which all the computers that were used within the organization worked in a network, even if one of the computers suffered a failure due to an enemy attack.

However, another less widespread version indicates that at the same time, in the Office for Information Processing Technologies (IPTO), a man named Robert Taylor (who was released as director of the office) had the idea of ​​generating a system that allowed researchers to share resources through the use of links.

If this idea worked, it would allow them to make their work more efficient and avoid the unnecessary purchase of more computers, considering that at that time they were extremely expensive and complicated to move and install.

The project was initially approved for development by ARPA, (Agency for Advanced Research Projects), which although initially dedicated to funding academic research, later became part of the US Department of Defense, calling itself DARPA. For many, there is the belief that the internet was a project developed for military purposes, when in fact it was a solution designed and financed for civil and research purposes.

Internet and world wide web (www or web)

Sometimes both terms are used interchangeably, although technically they do not have the same meaning. Internet is the transmission medium used by the world wide web or www (in Spanish the term web is often used). In this way, one of the services that the Internet allows to use is the web, understood as a set of protocols that allows remote access of hypertext files (content with links to other texts).

Internet services

In addition to the web, which allows the consultation of hypertexts, the internet is also the means of transmission of electronic mail, the transmission of multimedia data (audio, video) in telephone systems, television and file-sharing platforms (such as P2P), instant messaging systems and online video games, to mention the most widely used.

Internet connections

Internet connections are the means available for a user to use the services offered by the internet through devices that use computer technology, such as computers, tablets and mobile phones.

There are different ways to access the internet. Some of them are the use of a telephone line (conventional or digital, for example, ADSL), the connection by cable (through fiber optics), the connection via satellite or the connection to wireless networks, also called wireless .

See also

Optical fiber.

Router

Internet as a means of communication

The possibilities offered by the internet as a source of access to information and knowledge in multiple formats are almost limitless. Hence, in recent decades, the traditional media have been driven to offer platforms and solutions adapted to new times and consumers of information.

In the beginning (beginning of the 90s), many media used the internet as a support, a secondary tool on which content was emptied through the web. Little by little, the media began to adjust the formats of their content so that they would be more compatible, in form and substance, with the characteristics of the internet and the web.

The characteristics of the Internet allow the presentation of information in a multitude of formats such as, for example, sound, video, images and text. It allows to combine elements from other media, such as radio, journalism and television. Hence, in the last decades many media have not only managed to adapt to the technological advance that the internet implies, but also new and unpublished media and platforms have emerged for the creation and transmission of information and content.

The emergence of platforms such as Blogger or Wordpress, which allow the creation of blogs, the emergence of digital social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, the evolution of instant messaging, streaming services (transmission of multimedia content such as movies, series or videos), digital television, among other advances, have not only redefined the role of traditional media, but have also made users go from being passive receivers to creators-consumers of content.

In this new communication ecosystem, traditional media and new media have had to consider users as an active part of this new framework. The Internet changed the power dynamics between senders and receivers and this is reflected in the quantity and variety of content that can be accessed today, as well as in the creation and updating of information technologies that allow access by users to digital content.

See also:

• Communication Media Information Technology Blog Blogger Label