This guide is the first in a series of beginner guides for the Internet. In this guide, we will briefly explain what the Internet is before I move on to provide a quick introduction to six major uses of the Internet.
What is the Internet?
The simple answer to the what is the Internet question? Is that the Internet is a computer network that has billions of devices around the world connected to it. Computers connected to a network can share data with other computers on the same network. You can read the beginner guide to the Internet article because the device you are reading it on is connected to the same network as the computer where this article is stored for nformation on connecting a device to the Internet. Read our beginners guide to connecting to the Internet.
The Internet is the infrastructure that allows the key internet components to do their stuff. Let’s start with what I would consider the most significant invention of the 1990s, which changed the world. The technology that allows me to share this guide with you is the World Wide web.
An Introduction To The World Wide Web
You are probably asking yourself, what is the World Wide Web? I like to think of it as an online library containing all our knowledge and culture that can be easily navigated.
What makes the World Wide Web so special is the ability to add hyperlinks. A hyperlink allows one webpage to link to another related webpage. Allowing pages to be connected together, forming an interconnected web of related information.
I have created a link to my website home page to show you what a hyperlink looks like. You have probably noticed that the website home page text is in blue text. Click on the link, and the ctnet.co.uk home page will open in another tab. From now on and in future guides, I will add hyperlinks to helpful content from our website and other websites across the World Wide web.
This quick introduction to the world wide web has been extended in our beginners guide to the World Wide Web.
You can search for information held on the World Wide Web using a search engine such as Google. You can read our separate guide on search engines as it is an essential skill for all Internet users.
An Introduction to email
Next on my list of key internet applications is email, which evolved from an abbreviation of electronic mail. It is the electronic equivalent of mail, allowing messages to be sent from one person to another electronically.
You may already have an email account as part of the account you use to access your smartphone, tablet or computer. If you are using a computer running the Windows operating system, it is likely a Microsoft email account. If you are using a device running either the Android or Chrome OS, it is likely a Google email account.
You can access your email accounts via the web by logging into your email account. It is also possible to download the emails to your computer using an email client application, such as the Gmail app on Android smartphones or tablets. On Windows, the app is called mail.
Another thing I must cover is online safety, as there is a risk to using the World Wide Web, email and social media. I’m not a security expert, but my advice would be if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If you have any suspicions, don’t click on the link.
Further information on this critical issue can be found in this article published by the National Cyber Security Centre, which I recommend that you read.
To find out more about email, please read our beginners guide to using email.
An Introduction To Social Media
What is social media? The World Wide Web connects information. In contrast, Social media connect people via the Internet. It can connect you with friends and other people you know and virtual friends you have never met in person.
Social media can be a great way of connecting with people, especially friends or family that don’t live nearby. It can also be a great way of meeting like-minded people. On the other side, many people have concerns about privacy on social media. On top of that while, most people you meet online are friendly people. Others are not so nice, just like in the real world. It would be best if you were careful.
YouTube
Many consider YouTube to be another social media as it allows users to share videos with others on the platform and comments to be added to those videos. It might have started as a social media site it has become something more significant. If you want to read instructions on how to do something, use Google to search the web. If you want to watch, someone do it search YouTube.
We will write a beginner’s guide on YouTube at some point.
Audio Streaming Services
Like music, and want to have access to a library of millions of tracks. Then you might want to look into online music streaming services such as Spotify or Amazon Music. I have included links to reviews of those services which I have written.
Video Streaming Services
Another growing area for streaming services includes the likes of Netflix and BBC Iplayer. These streaming services can be accessed via your computer and other smart devices, including smart televisions.
Conclusion
I hope that you find this guide useful on its own, especially as I seem to be saying we will look to publish further beginner guides in future. I’ve done this as I think it is more important to publish the beginner guides as I write them and let them grow organically as we work out together what other guides I need to write in the future. I’m currently planning to publish a new beginner guide every Monday.
The idea to write the upcoming series of beginner guides was sparked by an article I wrote regarding a 2021 Ofcom report on Internet use in the UK. I founded this website to help improve our understanding of computing and technology, and that is what I’m doing with these guides.
If you have any further questions please ask them in the comments section below.