The Story of Communication:

Internet—Fascinating Facts

• The Internet is changing so fast that by the time you read this page, it will be different from what it was when you began reading.
• In France, the pre-Internet Minitel service has been so popular that it slowed acceptance of the Internet.
• Before the Internet, a number of interactive systems were tested in the United States. Almost all of them failed.
• The predecessor to the Internet was started by university science researchers who wanted a better way to share information.
• The Internet was designed without a headquarters so that in the event of an atom bomb attack, it could still function.
• A website sits in “virtual space.” It exists but does not have a physical location.
• The first website was designed in 1991, not so long ago.
• No one knows how many websites are on the World Wide Web.
• An early website was called “Archie,” so people would think of “archive.” Instead, a new search engine was called “Veronica.”
• “ Google” is just one of the latest odd search engine names that include Gopher, Dogpile, Hotbot, Lycos, and Yahoo.
• According to a 2004 survey, every minute Google handles 138,000 requests for information in 90 languages.
• Amazon.com has a search engine that can examine every word in well over 100,000 books.
• One computer specialist said, “Asking who is in charge of Internet is like asking who is in charge of the national sidewalk system.”
• Email seems to have revived letter writing, but without its traditional politeness and graciousness.
• IM became popular in 1996 when four Israeli programmers came up with ICQ (“I seek you”), a free instant messaging method.
• Play the “Google game.” Find two words that will produce one and only one listing.
• Television remained the No. 1 source for political news; 21% of 18 to 29-year-olds identified the Internet as their No. 1 source.
• eBay was born out of a conversation in a San Jose, California, living room.
• It took the telephone 75 years and television 13 years to acquire 50 million users. It took the Internet five years.
• Half the people in the world have never made a phone call.
• A researcher in India estimated that a single new phone line in a developing country adds an average of $3,700 to its national wealth.
• According to a study, American women over the age of 40 spend more time playing online games than men or teens do.
• There is the Internet Addiction Support Group. It has 300 members who meet online.

More Resources for Internet

• Websites to Explore

• Timeline

• Sample Chapter (you must have Adobe Reader)

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