Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.
This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.
Internet Use
How did the internet begin? In the 1950’s the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network, known as ARPANET, created the the first network of computers to communicate with each other. It was a collaborative effort between many people, however Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn are credited with developing the communication protocols that allow computers to be able to communicate with each other. It wasn’t until 1991 that the web was created by Tim Berners-Lee who developed the first web browser with the help of Robert Cailliau. It wasn’t the same web browser we are familiar with today as it was only able to display text. Two years later, the Mosaic browser was born and added another dimension allowing users to view text and graphics.
Over the years as the internet became more advanced, it allowed users to communicate in many different ways. Social media sites such as MySpace allowed users to create a profile and invite people to connect with them. Facebook and Twitter are now two of the most widely used platforms of social media where users can share photos as well as share details of their daily lives and give their opinions on just about anything.
Another way for people to communicate over the internet is through the use of email. Email allows users to send messages in a more private manner. We are also able to send files through email to co-workers or friends and family. You can access your email through an email client installed on your device, which allows you to view messages while offline, or through a web browser using web based email that you can access on any device that is connected to the internet.
Wiki’s are online documents that are created by multiple users with the ability to be edited by several users without having to email them back and forth. Users can review the document and make changes. This is a great tool for collaborative projects that require the input of many people working on the same project.
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Blogs are one way for people to express themselves through an online journal giving them a chance to share experiences, projects, ideas on cooking, saving money and any topic that interests them. Although blogs are mainly text, they also allow us to share photos and video with those that visit them.
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If you aren’t a reader you can listen to podcasts. Podcasts are audio or video files allowing us to listen to books or radio and news shows. Podcasts can be downloaded to your device so you can listen to them anywhere. Unlike podcasts, webcasts allow us to experience audio and video live as it is happening.
Many of us are now able to view streaming media through providers such as Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon’s Prime video. Streaming services allow its content to be viewed immediately as it is being delivered without the need to download it to our devices. Spotify and Prime Music allows us to stream our favorite music.
Conducting business transactions online is big business and is known as e-commerce. When we buy something online from Walmart or Amazon we are conducting a type of e-commerce known as business to consumer. Other online or e-commerce transactions take place between businesses and also consumer to consumer transactions which are conducted through sites like eBay. Using your mobile phone or tablet to conduct online transactions is known as m-commerce. Some examples of m-commerce you may be familiar with would be Samsung Pay or Apple Pay. You may have went to a concert or sporting event and used a mobile ticket to enter the venue, this is also a form m-commerce. Technology continually finds new means to conduct business and communicate with our friends and family as well as collaborate with co-workers and keeps us connected in so many ways. The internet has changed the world and I can’t wait to see what it will bring next!
Introduce Yourself (Example Post)
This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.
You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.
Why do this?
- Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
- Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.
The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.
To help you get started, here are a few questions:
- Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
- What topics do you think you’ll write about?
- Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
- If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?
You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.
Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.
When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.
