E-Commerce and M-Commerce

Picture from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ecommerce-timeline_1998.png

The Internet has changed many aspects of our daily lives, including the way we receive goods and services. E-commerce and M-commerce are slowly becoming common for users to shop online. E-commerce refers to electronic shopping, whereas M-commerce refers to shopping on a mobile device. With companies like Amazon.com, the use of e-commerce makes shopping and delivery as easy as clicking a button. Similarly, brick and mortar stores are using online shopping as a method as well, such as Target and Walmart. Additionally, there is an uprise in online shopping with in store delivery and pick up, proving more convenience. As long as there is simplicity in online shopping, it will continue to be a popular option. However, the perks of this convenience come with the slow decrease of sales in traditional stores.

Reference: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/let-s-ask-the-basic-question-what-is-ecommerce-1141599

Methods of Communication

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One of the most popular features of the internet is communicating at a distance. There are multiple methods of communicating and staying in touch online:

1. Social Networking: One of the primary uses of the Internet has become social networking. There are a variety of methods to network with those around you through media sharing, status updates, and even instant messaging services. Popular social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and even Instagram focus on microblogging, or short status updates to share with the public and house thousands of daily users. 
2. Email: Electronic Mail is a quick method of communication that does not require immediate response from the intended recipient. Email continues to be the most popular method of communicating for businesses, schools, and even personal use (though this is seeing a slow decline). There are multiple platforms that host email servers including the most popular: Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook. 
3. Wikis and Blogs: Blogging sites, such as what you are viewing now, are great methods of online journaling and sharing with others. Blogs allow for a user to post content and share it with a wide audience based on specific interests. Additionally, Wikis are another resource where multiple users can submit information. A Wiki is very similar to the ultimate in online collaboration as information on a particular subject is gathered (such as resources, text information, related links, etc.). 
4. Pod and Webcasts: While most communication is asynchronous, meaning the information does not need an immediate response from a user, there are most live methods of communication. Podcasts are audio only live streams of broadcasting that delivers content, typically on a regular basis. Podcasts can be recorded and viewed later and function almost like a radio show, except online. Additionally, webcasts work very similarly only they include video with the audio. 

References: https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/beyondemail/all-about-online-communication/1/, https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/wikis/, https://www.twitch.tv/, https://www.facebook.com/

Brief History of Internet and Security

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The Internet has changed how we access information and essentially how we live our lives, but where did it start? Conceptualizing the internet began back in 1965 with Lawrence G. Roberts and Thomas Merrill who set the foundations of a computer network and experienced the benefits of computers collaborating with one another. This began a quest that spanned almost 30 years in development to the personal devices and access we know today. Computers developed alongside the Internet to give us the freedom at our fingertips. From what was once only a text-based web browser to the multimedia and functionality we experience today, the Internet continues to grow and expand our world.

Yet, alongside the Internet were security issues. A lot of the Internet's success was based on free use and sharing documents. For this reason, security was not a large issue until 1973 when the ease of accessing these new computer networks was discovered. As security measures became more prominent in the world, government regulations also came into play with the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.While it is impossible to make everything on the Internet 100% secure, we are slowly closing the gap between hacking potential and security on Internet servers.

References: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/security-of-the-internet/history/, https://www.internetsociety.org/internet/history-internet/brief-history-internet/?gclid=CjwKCAjwgbLzBRBsEiwAXVIygFmL2gxoDz8jtdnvz0b4Cjq4GwdMrEjr9PZPLtkT6OwkY8ftfJzXFhoCZUYQAvD_BwE