AN INTRODUCTION TO THE INTERNET: 2011

Sunday, April 24, 2011

The Future Beholds!

It is pretty hard to imagine what will the world will be like in the next 5 years. The technology is already improving so rapidly such that we do not know what these new technology is capable of. Just like the Internet, it has evolved and integrated so rapidly that we practically cannot live without it.

I shall discuss some predicted future trends of the Internet today.

Micro-payments will b more prevalent in the near future. Currently, micro-payments can be seen used within MMORPGS (massively mulit-player online role playing games). These systems use credits that are usually a fraction of a dollar to buy and exchange stuff within the game. Interestingly, there are numerous people that earn a living through these systems. Pay Pal is already offering support for micro-payments at a rate of 5% plus $0.05 per transaction. Amazon is also experimenting with micro-payments through its Flexible Payments Service (FPS). Dedicated micro-payment systems are also starting to crop up. Micro-payments in the future may be linked to hand phones where we can pay through it. I believe that this will open up a whole new area of economic interest and opportunities especially in areas where hand phones usage are more prevalent and you can do payments on the go much easily.

Moreover, i think that more and more print media will do an online integration sooner and later. Reason being to tap onto the online audiences and also to save trees. Many magazine come and go with little or no notice. Together with handheld devices have HD capabilities, the quality of magazines online will not be affected. moreover, the portability of our handheld devices have a better edge over printed media. I believe that magazine do go online, they have much more content. They will be able to link content to wikis, blogs, other sources and will be able to add audio files, videos on top of it. These will make magazine more interactive than before. Editors are also able to play with the format of these magazine, be it page flipping, blog-like, etc. Whatever format it is, the cost of printed media will go up but the web remain relatively cheaper and more creative.

Agumented reality will also play a big part of our lives in the near future. With research and testing on going as we speak, it is sooner or later before this technology will be used widely. Take for example in handheld devices, with the camera attached to it, we will be able to identfy places using agumented reality. You may also be able to identify people will pointing your phone at someone and read about his/her details. While many people still see augmented reality as the stuff of science fiction, the truth is that some apps are already available. Layar, a free augmented reality app, is available for both the iPhone and Android-based phones. It uses layers provided by a range of content providers such as Flickr, Wikipedia and Twitter to display an overlay of information on your mobile screen. Other apps will also likely follow.

These are some of the interesting developments that I would like to see it in future. Surely one day we will all be able to experience it!

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Do You Youtube?

I will be discussing about Youtube in this post. I am sort of a Youtube fan and i absolutely enjoy the existence of this website. Also. i also believe that this site is very helpful in so many ways that is almost impossible to list them all.

Some background info about Youtube- YouTube is a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share, and view videos, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005. Moreover, it was bought by Google in November 2006 for $1.6 billion and now it operates as a subsidary of Google.

Youtube has tide me over the most boring days with countless videos of ranging subjects. I think it is definitely a very good website for people who learn things visually. Let's say you didn't paid attention at all during Stats class today and you have a test 2 days from now. As you are afraid and shy to ask teacher to repeat what she has taught, you decide to go on Youtube to search for videos that teaches you Stats. BAM! Problem solved. Moreover, I also think that Youtube has a very good potential to be a educational channel where many users create their own educational videos with many of their own inputs that make the whole package even more engaging and popular.

As i said before, Youtube has too many uses for me to list down everything. You basically can get your daily fix of jokes, how-to, gaming, entertainment, sports, news clips, advertisements, travel, many many more. I personally subscribed to a few channels for my daily fix of entertainement. What i meant by subscribing is that upon subcribsion to a certain user, I will be alerted of the new videos that the user has posted. In that way, I will not need to keep going back to search for that particular user.

Also, many people has tapped onto Youtube to make money. Partners of Youtube are getting paid in accordance to the number of views that each video garners. Many business has also leech onto famous Youtubers to have product placement in their videos as the reach will go worldwide. Therefore I see Youtube as a very powerful tool for reach and the early adopters of Youtube has indeed had much money out of this system.

I personally feel that Youtube has a very very bright future ahead and that it will just get bigger in size and as well as popularity. As I always says, Youtube is like a blackhole, it just leads you on from one video to another and by the time you realised that you have been wasting too much time on it, its already too late for regret.

Some interesting figures and facts about Youtube! Check it out!!

Monday, April 4, 2011

The New Age of Journalism

The Internet has revolutionized much of the world. Journalism is also being evolved into many different forms. Tradition print such as those of magazines and newspapers are being threaten due to the existence of online news websites. Participatory journalism, citizen journalism and many others form of it has risen thanks to the internet.

Now, anybody is able to create a blog and report on news. However, the big question is- will the content be bias or false? Newspapers such as Straits Times have an online edition of their newspapers, however, these news are still controlled by editors and censors. They are usually news that have already happened. Websites such as Stomp, make use of the public to harvest news. Everyday citizens are able to record a video or take a picture and sent it to Stomp. This will thus become the latest news that full-time journalist may not be there at the moment to capture and report on it.

Nowadays, big media companies also harvest on these small blogs to run their stories. They may pick up a lead of a story on someone's blog and thus be able to go ahead and find out more due to more resources on hand. Communal news that directly affects certain communities or neighbours have been very beneficial to specified target groups as they will be get the news efficiently.

Moreover, many news stations have set up Twitter accounts and have many followers. This will allow them to broadcast pressing news as it happens to the followers. Not only is it real time, accessibilty is also easy.

Mainstream media no longer control the news flow. They were previously gatekeepers of news. Although the Internet is full of hundreds of thousands of blogs, the most successful blogs rise to the top by keeping high standards of journalism. Objectivity remains a crucial value for journalists and the best bloggers know this New media isn’t forcing journalism to die, but simply adapt.

In summary, technology has improved the processes of identifying stories that are newsworthy. Feeds from social networking services such as Facebook and Twitter provide a snapshot of events happening around the world from the viewpoint of first-hand witnesses, and blogs and citizen news sources offer analytical perspectives from the ground faster than print or television can provide.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Merdeka Singapura!

You may ask, are born apathetic? Are we concerned about what is going to happen in 20 years? Is PAP still going to be the main ruling party? Do our youths really care about their future?

Singapore has came a long way from a small fishing island to a metropolitan city. Due to the economic and social stability that is present nowadays, we have became apathetic.

Yes, it is true that we are taken care of by the government. Our parents have been constantly reminding us to study hard, get a degree, find a stable and high paying job and never get into politics. It is not so hard to understand why. Our founding fathers have fought hard to bring up Singapore to what it is now. Politicians such as Lee Kuan Yew dedicated their whole life in service to our country and it wasn't an easy one. Therefore our parents doesn't want us to step out of our comfort zone to pursue the life of a public figure.<\p>

Many people think that their voices will not be heard in country building. As compared to politicians who have countless years in nation building, people may think that how can they ever debate about the country's future with them.

Political correctness also has made youths of today much more fearful of expressing and opening up in public. many presumed that they must have an education in politics before they are able to grasp the guidelines to make politically correct statements. This is one of the deterrence that many faced.

Another reason is that Singaporeans live a very sheltered and comfortable life. This make them oblivious to the perils that Singapore may face in the future. This affluence made Singaporeans ignorant to the pressing issues and made many others materialistic. This shows how shallow our society is and that we lack of the maturity in national spirit.

It is therefore important to break the cycle of apathy. Students nowadays have myopic view of their future. They only pursue what is beneficial and valuable to them and they value the freedom that they have. not having to worry about money, politics, foreign affairs, etc. This selfishness must therefore be eliminated. As we progresses to working adults, the government policies may affect our livelihood and the amount of money we are able to take home. If we do not question our government's action to build a sustainable future, it might be all too late for any change to happen.

If we were to continue to be apathetic, we may become helpless working adults trying to instill the idea of being interested in Singapore to our kids. Our kids will enter the vicious cycle of self-centeredness that we are going through right now. This will lead to the next generation being not able to lead our country forward onto the next phase not because of the lack of knowledge but the apathy that is present.

It is important that we try to break this cycle of apathy now. We should think about our future as it many not be always smooth sailing like of the present. Afterall, it will affect us sooner or later. Make a change!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Quirky Multimedia!

Multimedia is a very fun part of the Internet. Multimedia has infiltrated into many parts of our life. It is pretty prevalent in areas such as advertising, education, engineering, journalism, etc. today, i'm forcusing on Multimedia Marketing and shall explore a few companies as of below.

Sour Sally

Sour Sally is a US premium non-fat yogurt that can be match with a range of toppings of your choice. Having flavors of original or green tea, they have since expanded into asia. There is one that is recently opened in Wisma Atria.

Their website has proved to be a very interesting one. Upon entering, you are able to control a character called 'Sour Sally'. By using your cursor, you are able to move her around to explore different objects. Using the mouse, you are also able to move around to explore different 'links' in this interactive page. Nicely branded, it has a good appeal for the ladies and easy to use.

Link: www.hellosoursally.com

The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter (Universal Studios Orlando)

This website promotes the Harry Potter theme park in Orlando. Starting off with an introductional video clip, it leads into a 3d map of the different places in the themepark. Using your mouse to roll over and click, it will lead you to the desired places to check out the street view and the rides that are available (similar to Google Streetview). Having a very nicely crafted theme and layout, it sets you into the mood of Harry Potter and the ease of access together with the interactivity proves that it is easy to use.

Link: www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/

Saab

This is my favourite. This website make use of video clips instead of animations to do the talking. Having a very clean layout together with interactivity where users are able to click, drag to explore, it is definitely a winner to me. The marketing strategy used it fairly simple but its meaning is profound. I shall let the website do the talking. DO CHECK IT OUT!

Link: http://changeperspective.saab.com/global/en/

There is a new type of advertising which i recently take noticed of. This is called Guerilla Multimedia Marketing Campaigns.

Some interesting examples!

Absolut Vodka

Unicef

Volkswagen

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Hey There, Beware!

In a recent newsarticle, a Singaporean hacker was charged for posting a fake bomb threat on technology website in July 2005. Futhermore, his charges still include 60 counts of illegally accessing a wireless network.

Lin Zhenghuang, 21, was charged with warning of a bomb at a local bus stop - just after the London subways and bus bombings. Other site users reported Lin's post to authorities, according to an Associated Press report. Lin goes by the name of krisurf to do his misdeeds. He also faces 60 charges of illegally accessing 9 wireless network between July 2005 and Feburary 2006. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 3 years in prison. This means that he may face up to 180 years in jail.

A similar case is that of Garyl Tan Jia Luo, 17, was alsocharged with accessing the web by tapping into an unknown person's internet connection in November of last year. A neighbor told authorities that Tan had accessed his web connection in May 2006.

Through this cases, we can see that there are many people are helping themselves to unlocked wireless connections and can be also viewed it trespassing of property. Though many users still disregard the severity of this issue, it is still better to take precautions.

Else where in the world, hackers hack into the electronic signs in Denver and displayed messages such as "ZOMBIES AHEAD". There are instructions for changing the electronic signs on the Internet which explain what the default passwords for the signs are and explains how to reset the password if it has been changed. The control boxes for the orange signs are usually locked, but apparently some of the control boxes aren't.

in Houston, a similar case also surfaced. A person admits to hacking the detour sign and displayed messages like "POOP" and ":) LOL".

These real life cases thus show how real the threat is. You wouldn't leave your back door or your front door open and similary, you shouldn't leave your connections or computers open to hackers out there.

BEWARE!

Monday, March 7, 2011

MUAHAHAHA

Some lame stuff i was playing around with using Windows Movie Maker

Here is the Final Product!

(don't kill me, my dear friends!)

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Tools For You!

Google Maps is a free mapping tool that is provided by Google. I use it pretty often regardless whether is it on my iphone or through my web browers. Not only is it user-friendly, it is also very reliable and up to date.

An interesting thing to note is that Singapore is the first country in world to launch a comprehensive nation-wide coverage of land travel planning tools. Through the collaboration between Google and Land Transport Authority (LTA), we are now able to plan our routes by buses, trains, cars or walking, all for free!

Transit and traffic information are also available on mobile devices with Google Maps for Mobile, so commuters and motorists can check the latest updates to make route changes on-the-go.

Whether a private car owner switching to go by bus or MRT, or a public transit rider choosing to drive or take a taxi, or even one of 10 million international visitors each year finding their way around, anyone will be able to check all of their land transport options to make an informed decision on the quickest, most convenient route and method to reach their destinations.

For example, each time a Google Maps user requests driving directions, the user will be given the opportunity to plan the same trip using public transit – a useful option when the driving route is highlighted as red or experiencing heavy congestion.

Google Maps Mapplets

Mapplets are useful mini-applications developed by third parties that can be added directly on to Google Maps Singapore. With just a single click of the mouse, users can customize their Google Maps by adding useful tools created just for Singapore. Let’s explore some interesting maps:

Singapore Traffic Incidents Map

Singapore Traffic Incidents on Google Maps

ERP info

Singapore ERP Info on Google Maps

National Parks Singapore

National Parks on Google Maps

Other Singapore mapplets can be found in the My Maps directory including petrol station finder, carpark finder, highway cameras and more.

Moreover, Google street view has also been proven to be a hit with users. Taking images from a 3d camera, we are able to view a full 360 degree on the place that we are searching for.

Here is a video tutorial for Google Map Singapore. Hope it helps!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Learning the 'E' Way

Gone were the days where we had to search and consult books in order to answer our queries. Not only it is time wasting, the amount of information may be limited to a few books. the worst case would be that you will not be even able to find what u are looking for.

As the internet progresses into Web 2.0, learning also takes on a new level! All you need is just a computer, internet connection and answers will never go unanswered!

E-learning can take on many forms and basically you can learn about anything on the vast internet. There are many sites that offer online courses ranging from gettting a degree to learning of a new language. You will thus be able to learn new knowledge in the comfort of your house without the need to step out of it. Imagine the amount of time and manpower that is saved!

I remembered that during my Secondary school days, there was an outbreak of SARS and school was stopped because of it. Due to the fear of not being able to cover the syllabus, my SEcondary school started the usuage of E-learning whereby teachers will record lessons at home using webcam and is stream live onto our home computers. Homework was also submitted online. During my Junior College years, there is also an E-learning day held annually and students like us were very happy as we do not have to go to school. However, we have to attend 'lectures' online. Once, i even had an online consultation online through msn messenger!

Nowadays, e-learning can be done literally with a click of a better. Many platforms provide access to many databases or user-contributed contents. I will discuss a few of them:

1. Search engines

Take Google for example, you are able to type in whatever qnestion you want into the text box and by clicking 'Goggle Search', you can access one of the millions results which are searched according to the keywords that you have provided. you are then be able to access these links and use the most appropriate ones. The good thing about these search engines is that they always list the most accurate result as the first few ones. Google also has a feature in which it will lead you to the irst site when you click on ' I'm Feeling Lucky'.

2. Forums

There are many forums, each of different interests, that you can join. Some of the popular ones include Hardware Zone where you are able to find answers to questions related to IT. Members also provide testimonials, reviews on ranging items. Moreover, you can post questions and start threads on the forum and allow members to help you answer or to start an online discussion/ debate. Through this, you can learn more about topics that interest you.

3. You-Tube

I personally think this is a very good platform to answer your queries. Some people are more of a visual learners, therefore, they are able to search for videos with regards to their queries. For example, i want to buy a RC helicopter. I will then search for videos of product reviews of these hlicopters. Upon my satisfaction, I am also able to view how to set up the helicopter. on You-tube, there is also a 'How To' section where you can learn anything such as make-up to how to be a amateur DJ.

Despite the numerous amount of information that is readily available on the internet, we should be very cautious in the consumtion of this knowlege. As many are user-contributed, there may be false information that is unreliable and we should be very carefeul of misleading knowledge that may do harm.

In all, E-learning has inflitrated much of our lives and we are very dependent on the internet in search of answers. I'm definitely adopting this culture for a long time!

How can we not love the Internet?!

Sunday, February 20, 2011

E-Commerce

The recent fad would be that of many blog shops that spring out of nowhere. Owners of these blog shops operate their business using blogger as a shop front and sell a variety of products from cameras to the much sort after items like cheap and trendy women clothing. However, as you may have notice, some sites are much favorite by some while others just doesn’t have the appeal. So why do you have a favorite website to buy things online? Is it because it is reliable? Or it happens to be one of your friend’s recommendations? Might it be that the site is very user friendly?

Here are some of the few pointers for you to make your site a successful one!

1. Provide an attractive and user friendly website.

Tasteful usage of colors, words, fonts, graphics, animations, pictures, etc may allow users to be blown away at first sight. Your website should be neat and allows users to find whatever they want very easily. Updating of your homepage regularly is also crucial to so that information on your site will be timely and accurate.

2. Reliability and Security.

Parallel servers, hardware redundancy, fail-safe technology, information encryption, and firewalls can enhance this requirement. Customers are also very cautious about sites being a scam, therefore it is important to assure customers with regards to payment and to delivery of products, etc.

3. Provide a sense of community

Having chat rooms or discussion boards will allow customers to give feedback on the business or the products that you have. By soliciting customer’s input and taking it into consideration, customers will feel more confident about your site and products and will spread the good name of it. Loyalty schemes and discounts to frequent customers can also have a firm grip over customers. Happy customers are also happy shoppers!

4. Provide personal attention

Personalized web sites, purchase suggestions, and personalized special offers may go some of the way in substituting face-to-face human interaction found at a traditional point of sale. Customers will thus

feel the exclusivity and will be revisiting in no time.

5. Service and performance

Offer a responsive and user-friendly purchasing experience to customers. Things like punctual delivery, responsiveness in answering of queries, etc all play a part in improving your company’s profile. By taking an extra step in assisting customers, you can be reassured that your customers will have a pleasant review of your website and company and will return to acquire more products or services from you.

6. Provide value to customers

It is important to know the niche market and thus works towards the wants and needs of targeted audience. Also, provide an edge over other competitors in the same market so that you will be able to attract more customers through proper advertising of your products.

7. Use of new technology

Provide updates through social websites such as Facebook or Twitter where you will be able to provide instant updates to followers/ fans on promotional products or services. Make new tweaks to your website by enhancing the search tools, add in new features which may include Youtube videos on your products, or adding social bookmarking widgets. This may allow you to develop a whole new channel

of potential customers.

8. Provide an incentive for customers to buy and return

Promotions such as giving coupons, having special offers, and discounts will generate more traffic to your site and ultimately sales will go up. Cross-linked websites and advertising affiliate programs can also help in gathering more audience to your site.

One point to note is that by following all these steps that I have listed (at your own discretion!) may not lead to an incredibly successful business that you own. Unluckily, there are many big sites that have rose out of nothing but then crash and burn and returned to nothing.

Top 10 dot-com flops:

# 1 Webvan.com (1999-2001)

# 2 Pets.com (2000)

# 3 Kozmo.com (1998-2001)

# 4 Flooz.com (1998-2001)

# 5 eToys.com (1997-2001)

# 6 Boo.com (1998-2000)

# 7 MVP.com (1999-2000)

# 8 Go.com (1998-2001)

# 9 Kibu.com (1999-2000)

# 10 GovWorks.com (1999-2000)

More information about these failed sites can be found on

http://www.cnet.com/1990-11136_1-6278387-1.html

Some of the main reasons of failures can be attributed to the fact that they lack of knowledge in building and running or an e-business. Without the assurance of the customers, many sites have been closed due to the fact that they did not have a good grasp of the niche market. Over ambitious people has also caused many to lose money without having a proper business model to start off with. Lousy website layout and difficult and tedious online purchases have also turned many people off.

In conclusion, owning a business, regardless whether is it e-commerce or not, revolves around consumers interest. Without satisfying the needs and wants of these targeted consumers, business will not be able to survive.

So do you think starting a business is that easy? Think again!

CHEERS~

Saturday, February 12, 2011

The Sound That is Made By A Bird

Socializing with people has been an important part of our life and now technology has lent all of us a helping hand to make things simpler and easier for us. Multiple social networking sites has sprung out since the start of web 2.0 and the society has pretty much being adopting it to increase social links and also to strengthen social ties.

I would like to talk about Twitter in this post as it makes news this week in which Google and Facebook are both trying to buy it over.

Honestly, I do not have a Twitter account wasn’t planning to acquire one. I thought that Facebook was good enough for me and I do not need another account to keep in touch with friends. Nonetheless, I was pretty much intrigued by the concept of it. It is some what like a micro blogging website in which you are able to send messages or “tweets” of up to 140 characters that will be displayed on your profile. By allowing friends, you also will be able to read their tweets almost instantly. One can also tweet pictures, links, videos and have a mini conversation on Twitter.

Yes, I have been bug many times to create an account as most of my friends have a Twitter account. Desperately to give an excuse of why I do not have an account, I said that I wasn’t able to think of a unique username (I couldn’t think of a better excuse on the spot!). Instead, this excuse backfired on me and my friends kept suggesting a mirage of ridiculous names for me. They even threatened to create one for me if I don’t do it myself.

As compared to Facebook, Twitter does not have that many functions. You could poke, tag, post pictures, videos, play games and scores of other things you can do on Facebook. Twitter has about 190million users (as of 8 July 2010) and is the number 9 ranking based on Alexa Internet research. Compared to Facebook who has 600 million users and rank number 2, Twitter has gained much popularity though it has very simple functions. I had a friend on Facebook who updates his Facebook status almost more than twice hourly and ended up flooding my wall with his updates. If it was something intellectual and funny, I wouldn’t mind, but unfortunately it was just mindless whining. Imagine this friend of mine who does his whining on Twitter, I guess it will be more socially accepted there. In all, Facebook and Twitter both serves different purpose but targets the same audience.

Twitter has many celebrities that use them and that is why many people sign up to ‘follow’ them so as to read their tweets. These celebs are also able to do product recommendations on twitter and allow people who are following them to almost instantly receive the msg. It’s just like having a celeb sms you! Moreover, shops or products that you follow will give u instant updates as compared to Facebook. With apps that are made available on Iphone, Windows or Android phones, users are able to receive msg on the go without having to access it from a web browser.

In conclusion, I think that Twitter will become a very good platform for social networking. It’s like a site concentrating on status updates. Having short and sweet tweets has become the in-thing for a fast pace society like ours. I admit that without a Twitter account, I am missing out the stuff that is happening within my friends on Twitter. Hmmmm, I might consider creating one after my Com125 lecture. Let me think of my Username first…..

Here is for your entertainment:

http://www.tweetbaggery.com/

Cheers!

Sunday, January 30, 2011

WHADDDUPPPP

I got to say that Web 2.0 has definitely affected the lives of many to a great extend (applies only those who uses the web!). As we progresses to Web 3.0, the effects and adoption of social media becomes more rampant.

I am in the generation whereby I saw the birth of these social media websites; sites that become very popular due to the fact that people are able to voice their opinions to reach a more global audience. Some sites include Stomp, Mr. Brown Show, etc.

Bloggers like mrbrown adopt new technology and trends such as podcasting to ‘blog’. One of the few main reasons I like about podcasting is that I can easily download it off from the website or subscribe to it on itunes. In that way, I am able to carry it around on my ipod and listen it on the go. Podcast replaces the need to read an online blog which may be very mundane and boring with tons of words to read. You just have to listen to it, that’s how simple it is!

I really like the way mrbrown does his podcast is because he always discuss current affairs that happened in Singapore in a humorous way. Somewhat shedding light to the issue, yet making fun of it at the same time. Throw in some music, some acting, funny imitation and accents, sarcastic or lame jokes plus an original song, BAMMMM, you get a podcast. Seems a lot in a bag isn’t it but the magic of it is that it reaches out to many Singaporeans! Let’s take a look at some of the podcast he made… (These are my favorites.)

Venturing into participatory online media, sites like Stomp has became very popular. It is a news site where any citizens are able to post news, pictures and others are allowed to comment on it. Stomp, to me, is pretty much a gossip site where many petty news gets publish.

I sometimes get bored and ventures into Stomp to have a look see. Sometimes, I just have a good laugh as there is much petty news such as complaints about bad behavior on public transports, funny characters that are seen in public. I agree that this is a good avenue where citizens are allowed to rant about issues and I just find it very entertaining. Nowadays, Singaporeans have coined the term, ‘kena stomp’ or ‘let’s stomp it’ which means to post it onto stomp’s website.

Here is the link to stomp! http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/singaporeseen/

More recently, I have shifted from using MSN messenger to using SKYPE. I did so as because most of my closer friends shifted too. Moreover, most of them are studying overseas and the only way that we can converse is through instant messaging or by video call. Incidentally, Skype offers both and it’s free! Thus, we can call one another through the internet without having to pay additional costs. Even though MSN messenger has almost the same features as Skype, I use Skype more often because of its exclusivity, lesser adverts and its user friendliness!

Summing up, here is funny video that I found on YouTube…

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Trending Now

I remembered when I was in Secondary 1 or 2, my dad bought a new computer for me and together with a loud and obnoxious 56k dial-up modem, I was able to surf the internet! This got me thinking about how the evolution and trends of the internet has influenced and changed me.

Those were the days where Web 1.0 existed. Most sites only have a one way flow of information and contain ‘read-only’ materials for the user, like a linear model of information transfer. None of the websites back then were interactive.

Then, mIRC popped out. It was immediately well received and was immensely popular back then. mIRC was one of the first few free of charge chat services that was available on the internet. It is a forum that provides an exchange of opinions and information with different channels where people can go to according to their interests or hobbies. This is also an avenue for one to widen social network, to troll or being preyed on by online sexual predators!

Another feature is that users are able to share files online. Users are able to download songs, files, software for free. Of course, it was pretty much like that of Napster where it was an online music peer to peer files sharing service which later was shut down due to massive copyright issues. Going back to mIRC, I was also able to transfer files and pictures and that was before the rise of MSN messenger.

Since 2004, the term Web 2.0 is used to describe the internet the way it is today. Some of the key attributes associated with Web 2.0 includes social networks like Friendster, Facebook, other sites like YouTube, personal webpages like Blogger. These sites include interactivity with other users, opinion sharing, etc and can be seen to be user friendly and dynamic in many ways.

I recalled Friendster was very popular back then where people are able to view one and another profile and adding each other as friends. “Eh, help me write a testimonial on my Friendster!” was very popular among my group of friends and all of us competed to see who has the most friends, nicest homepage etc. (don’t judge me; I was still in Secondary school). Then, came about Myspace which wasn’t so popular in Singapore.

Up came Facebook and many people ditch Friendster to jump onboard Facebook’s bandwagon. Since then, Facebook has sky rocketed into the world’s most accessed website and has now over 500 million active users. Status updating, posting pictures, tagging pictures has all became a necessity for users nowadays.

YouTube, a video-sharing websites has also been very well received by web users. (Though there is much criticism over the overly commercialized YouTube now). Blogging has also become a craze of recent times. (That’s why I’m doing this entry? Duh…) Many people also earn their living through blogging or making YouTube videos. These social media experts were born due to the change in the way of internet consumption.

Of course there are many other trending websites that are gen Z favorites.

So what is Web 3.0? Also known as the semantic web, it is a pretty much speculated thing, One can only predict what it will consists of but none are sure of it.

Time will only tell what is to come.

FACEBOOK TIME!