Brief history of the Internet and Web browsers
Today we just login into our computers, tablets and phones, click our browser and find ourselves communicating, educated and entertained. We forget that a browser is not the internet but merely a layer to ease the navigation of it. Nearly six decades ago the internet began as a concept that Leonard Kleinrock wrote about in “Information Flow in Large Communication Nets.” (Kim Ann Zimmermann & Jesse Emspak, 2017). The internet we know today is based off the platform that the U.S. Department of Defense called Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) from 1968(Evans, Martin, & Poatsy, 2014). Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox are the evolution of a software that Tim Berners-Lee called Libwww Library, which was an Application Programming Interface (API) (Hoffmann, 2017).
Using web browsers there are five methods of communication that we can use. The first, and most often used is social networking. Sites like Facebook, Myspace and twitter are well known and used for both personal and professional use. Family, friends, coworkers and businesses can be communicated with just by simply logging in and sending a message, posting messages to all or even ordering products. This method does have security and privacy concerns that you need to be mindful of, posting personal information or your daily routines for example.
Another method we use daily is email. Email is a
direct line of communication that is faster and, in more ways, very convenient (Evans, Martin, & Poatsy, 2014). Email does have risks, as our technology advances so are the ways that our personal information can be accessed by using different methods like phishing and malware (Lord, 2017).
The third method is by Wikis and blogs. Wikis are a way to collaborate with others and can be updated by anyone a soon as information changes. Then you have blogs which can either be your daily rant or have a specific topic that you want your readers to hear your opinion about. Unlike Wikis, blogs are not collaborated and are an individuals point of view (Evans, Martin, & Poatsy, 2014). Some benefits of a blog are, the ability to improve writing, allows you to open your mind and freely write and give the opportunity to provide inspiration to others (Becker, 2018).
Another method is podcasts, if you enjoy listening to different audio whether it is about news, weather or life decisions or you like to look at digital magazines then services like 
podcasts are for you. You can download to your phone or computer when you want or pay for a subscription and have it automatically updated. Podcasts are recorded and available once they are uploaded. Then you have webcast which are live streams or streams that are available for download (WebcastINC, 2012). Podcasts and webcasts are very similar, the difference basically is your needs for if you want to store on your device or if you don’t always have an internet connection.
The fifth method is streaming media. With technology and the advancement in access to the internet we can stream our tv shows, movies and even music. With services like Pandora and Netflix that offer access to music, movies and tv shows, the long waits in airports and even our work outs can be entertained. All you need is internet connection and a device, and you have access to the different media available anywhere at any time.
E-commerce is the buying, selling and any online business transaction. It has greatly intensified over the last decade with the ways we shop, mobile banking and even sell items. According to Statista.com global E-commerce sales have gone up 1,000 billion U.S.
dollars since 2014 and by 2021 will raise to a total of 4,878 billon U.S. dollars (Statista, 2018). M-commerce is very similar to E-commerce but using mobile devices. Everyday we check our bank accounts, use Facebook marketplace, order from amazon and even purchase homes all from our cell phones. Having the technology of a mobile device makes performing these actions easier to perform on the go.
References
Becker, J. (2018, June 04). 15 Reasons I Think You Should Blog. Retrieved from https://www.becomingminimalist.com/15-reasons-i-think-you-should-blog/
Evans, Alan, Kendall Martin, Mary Poatsy. Technology In Action, Introductory, 11th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions, 2014-03-01. VitalBook file.ns-i-think-you-should-blog/
Hoffmann, J. (2017, September 26). The Web’s First (And Second) Browser. Retrieved from https://thehistoryoftheweb.com/web-first-and-second-browser/
Kim Ann Zimmermann & Jesse Emspak. (2017, June 27). Internet History Timeline: ARPANET to the World Wide Web. Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/20727-internet-history.html
Lord, N. (2017, July 27). What is Email Security? Data Protection 101. Retrieved from https://digitalguardian.com/blog/what-email-security-data-protection-101
Statista. (2018). Global retail e-commerce market size 2014-2021. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/379046/worldwide-retail-e-commerce-sales/
WebcastINC. (2012). What Is a Live Webcast and How to Stream? Retrieved from http://webcastinc.com/what-is-webcasting/live-webcast-how-to-stream
Photo refrences
Main: https://pixabay.com/en/communication-internet-1927706/
Internet history: https://pixabay.com/en/ball-networks-internet-social-419198/
Social networking:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Socialmedia-pm.png
Email: http://pngimg.com/download/19944
Wiki and blogs: https://www.maxpixel.net/Social-Media-Blogging-Chalk-Blackboard-Blog-428955
Podcasts and webcasts: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Podcast-icon.svg
Streaming: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Podcast-icon.svg
E-commerce/m-commerce: https://pixabay.com/en/ecommerce-selling-online-2140604/
Bridge the Gap: Knowing the Internet and how to use it! 
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