Domain names

The domain name system is essentially a hierarchical distributed naming system for computers, services or any resource connected to the internet or a private network. It associated various information which the domain names instead of the IP addresses. An IP address were a series of numbers and letters. The users of the internet would have to remember these to get onto a particular page, whereas now they only have to remember a name which is much easier.

These domain name servers made the internet able to access the pages we want as quickly as we do know. This is how the domain name server helped to contribute to the technological growth of the internet, with the speed. We only have the speeds which we know and expect of our internet because of domain names. 

Technological growth - Packet switching

The first concept of sending small blocks of data was originally explored by Paul Baran in the early 1960s. The idea of sending information in packets was coincidentally also developed in the UK a few years later by Donald Davies and the National Physical Laboratory.

Packet switching is where a piece of information is split up into multiple packets. Each of these smaller packets is assigned a ‘header’.  The header contains a network IP address, which it needs to arrive to and it also has the details of the IP address from which it was sent so that if anything goes wrong it can be returned safely. The header also gives each packet a number and records how many packets the data was split up into, this allows for the maximum security which it can do.

This has contributed to the growth of the internet because it has allowed for a much securer connection  for sending you personal details over the internet and has also widened what we use the internet for. 

On-line gaming

Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft are the three major online gaming names which everyone has heard of. These systems have greatly influenced the way in which we use the internet and thus its growth, by allowing gamers to challenge someone around the world to a game which communicating between themselves as they do so.

A lot of the games you play now are either on Xbox live, which has a grand total of 20 million users, or the PlayStation network which has 17 million users. These networks offer co-operative play where you can group up with a load of friends or a group of people you have never met before, and work towards a common cause.

This technology has had a massive impact on the social growth of the internet because it has allowed people to make friends who share the same hobby as you – online gaming. However, it can be a verbally abusive thing to be involved in because of the anonymous player who like to use their screen name as a shield.

E-mail

Email has become the main communication method, which everyone now is expected to use. Since it was developed in 1973 is has developed again a massive user following and has greatly reduced the need of paper letters in everyday life. The basic function of it is that it allows the customers who have signed up to allow people to send messages anywhere in the world at either very little or no cost.

As it has developed from only sending text based messages to sending messages containing attached files and messages which have been formatted to make them look more attractive, they have changed the internet with their pure potential. We are able to share articles and passages with our friends, forward important email with your work colleagues or even write to you pen friend in a foreign country without using the more traditional pen and paper.

Skype

Skype runs on VOIP software and provides cheap and free phone calls. It was launched in 2003 and now boasts 663 million users mainly because of the value for money and the fact that it appeals more towards the older generation.

Skype doesn’t just allow for phone calls but also has the software for you to, again for free, video call your friends and family. This gives the whole phone call a more personal feel and encourages the older generation to use it as they get to see the rest of their family’s more often and see their grandchildren growing up if they are unfortunate enough not to live close by.

These pieces of software have helped the internet to develop socially because it allows everybody to have conversations without any limitations. They are used for anything from securing that all important deal in your office, having a friendly chat with someone or even group calling a number of people.

YouTube

 YouTube stand for four things: independence, freedom, music and community, shown by its slogan "broadcast yourself’ which indeed many of us do. YouTube’s fan base has grown rapidly over the past few years, shown by the facts and figures which YouTube has published, displaying over 300 million account on YouTube at the current time, over 3 billion videos watched daily and the total time needed to watch all of the content on YouTube totalling over 600 years.This has totally changed the way in which we receive and distribute information between ourselves.

This website which has been the largest video sharing website since it was founded in 2005 has been made so successful by the features it offers. Everyone who sets up a free account can upload any video they have (within reason). This has allowed people who are experts in their field or just enjoy doing it to begin a trend called vlogging. This is when these few people frequently post videos on their channels which can show anything from music which they have created to their own opinions about current events and news. Vlogging has also become more popular to people using social networking site as you are able to like you content, so if you use Facebook it could be displayed on your wall. 

Twitter

Twitter has recently become the ‘SMS of the internet’ and can be accessed all over the world, anywhere and at any time. It has become so popular that over 300 million mobile devices are connected to the site at any one time, and each one making at least one tweet ( a message informing your followers of your current activities).

One of the main reasons for its triumph over other social networking sites is that it gives the average person the ability to make a personal connection with a celebrity. Twitter has had a large impact on the development of the internet because of its huge member base which is expanding every day and has started its own trends of connecting with the stars.