INTERNET AS A FORM OF MASS MEDIA

AND COMMUNICATION

WORLD WIDE NET

The 1990s was truly the electronic age. The World Wide Web was born in 1992, changing the way we communicate (email), spend our money (online gambling, stores), and do business (e-commerce). By 1994, 3 million people were online. By 1998, 100 million people were. It is estimated that by 2001, some 1 billion people will be connected. Internet lingo like plug-ins, BTW (by the way), GOK (God only knows), IMHO (in my humble opinion), FAQS, SPAM, FTP, ISP, and phrases like "See you online" or "The server's down" or "Bill Gates" became part of our everyday vocabulary. We signed our mail with a :-) smile, a ;-) wink, or a :-* kiss. There is a whole code of I-net born signs, that can be seen on the pages of printed press nowadays: "Ready 4 school?” instead of "Ready for school?”, or "I’m coming 2 u” must be read like "I’m coming to you.”

Internet owners are concerned about quick downloading information from the world-wide net. Slow access lines are owned by very few private people. Most bye fast access to Internet, because the difference in price is very insignificant. Richer companies can afford T-1 (T-one), - that is a separate telephone line, coming straight to the user.

But cable Internet makes it possible to move around the world with a lap-top, without having to find a place to switch to. It is enough to insert batteries, and you are in I-net, which functions like cell phones.

Maybe the most valuable information is best read in books, or viewed on video, or heard on audio cassettes. More photographs, more information, more depth. But then, there is information that will be found only on the Internet; a journal, a diary, or photographs

Reading entire books online became available through such sites as Project Gutenber<!--[if !supportNestedAnchors]--><!--[endif]-->g. The biggest trend in book selling during the 1990s included online bookstores and publishers.

The price of books sky-rocketed and half-priced books (used books) became popular. Big money authors rushed to the web with reviews, bios, etc.

Cell phones, or mobiles, is another way of communication peculiar of today. They are indispensable for people going to the country with no telephone lines, if they want urgent communication. And, sure enough, they always do. They install expensive fax machines in cars, even if it takes them minutes to get to work from home.